As someone who has spent considerable time on European trains,
including dozens of cab rides, I have never felt any less safe
on those trains than on trains in the U.S. I've also talked
about safety issues with railroaders on both sides of the
Atlantic.
I wrote about this in a long guest commentary for another Web
site several months ago:
NCII: Destination Freedom newsletter
If you are interested in this topic, please take a look. It's
the first piece in the newsletterm though there's also a related
piece later on.
I could discuss the comparison of European and American railroads
at length, but, I hope, the above will provide a starting point.
-- Ernest