Safety – Page 14 – Railfanning.org

Washington Metro: No Texting for Operators

July 9, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Following a string of embarrassments, including a YouTube video that showed a subway operator texting, Washington Metro has adopted a zero tolerance policy on operator use of cell phones, texting devices. Metrobus and Metrorail operators caught using a cell phone, texting or using a PDA while operating a vehicle will be fired under the new policy announced by Metro General Manager John Catoe. The new policy will take effect on Monday, July 13. “There is no excuse for anyone who is operating a Metrobus or Metrorail train to be using a cell phone or texting other than for

CSX: ATVs on South Carolina Train Tracks Cost Money and Lives

June 11, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With the summer fast approaching, CSX Transportation (CSXT) asks you to stay safe and keep ATVs (all terrain vehicles) off railroad tracks. That means ride your ATV somewhere other than railroad tracks and rights-of-way (approximately, 50 feet in each direction from the center of the tracks.) Help prevent needless accidents on railroad property, where hundreds of people are killed or injured nationwide each year. “Train tracks and railroad rights-of-way are not safe places to ride ATVs for recreation or to get to favorite fishing and hunting spots,” said Nelson High, CSXT community affairs and safety officer. “It’s

UP: Special Train Focuses on Rail Safety Enforcement

May 22, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

PHOENIX — There is no such thing as luck when it comes to trying to beat a train. Federal Railroad Administration statistics attribute 2,373 crashes every year to driver behavior, which often involves trying to beat a train. That is why Union Pacific is partnering with Arizona Operation Lifesaver to host an “Officer on the Train” event May 22.A special passenger train will allow community leaders, law enforcement officers and education officials to learn about highway-railroad grade crossing safety and the consequences of trespassing on railroad property. “We want to offer community leaders the opportunity to see first-hand the risks

Willamette & Pacific Wins Harriman Gold, ASLRRA President’s Awards

May 20, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

GREENWICH, Conn. — Genesee & Wyoming Inc.’s Willamette & Pacific Railroad won the railroad industry’s top awards for 2008 safety performance. Today it was announced that the W&P, a short line freight railroad based in Salem, Ore., won the E.H. Harriman Gold Award for the best employee safety record among railroads working less than four million employee-hours in 2008. Harriman Award winners are selected by a committee of representatives from the transportation field and granted on the basis of the lowest casualty rates per 200,000 employee-hours worked, with a formula that accounts for volume of work performed as well as

NTSB Member Testifies About Hazardous Materials Transportation

May 14, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

National Transportation Safety Board Member Deborah A.P. Hersman testified before Congress about the safety of hazardous materials transportation. She focused her testimony on the transportation of lithium batteries, the use of wet lines on tanker trucks, and the loading and unloading of hazardous materials from tank trucks and railroad tank cars.

Operation Lifesaver ‘Shark’ Rail Safety PSAs Will Be Featured in Amtrak Stations On National Train Day

May 5, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – Amtrak will showcase Operation Lifesaver’s “Shark” rail safety public service advertisements (PSAs) in four major cities as part of its celebration of National Train Day, May 9, 2009. National Train Day commemorates the first transcontinental railroad and promotes rail travel with major events in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles, and other events in communities nationwide. “These PSAs provide a humorous reminder that safety is an essential part of train travel,” said Operation Lifesaver President Helen M. Sramek. “Using common sense is an easy way to practice safety around tracks and trains,” she continued. The PSAs, aimed

Canadian Pacific Police Steps up Safety Enforcement

April 24, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

CALGARY — The Canadian Pacific Police Service (CPPS) is taking its public safety message directly to the street, during Rail Safety Week which runs from April 27 to May 3 in Canada. CP Police officers from Montreal to Vancouver will conduct more than 100 safety and enforcement blitzes in communities across Canada. They will remind students, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists about the important message of staying safe around railway crossings and property. “This week our focus is to build on the education efforts of programs such as Operation Lifesaver by deploying officers to enforce the laws that relate specifically to

NTSB Hands Down Recommendations

April 10, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has handed down a number of recommendations. The NTSB made the following recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration: — Establish uniform signal aspects that railroads must use to authorize a train to enter an occupied block, and prohibitthe use of these aspects for any other signal indication. — Study the different signal systems for trains, identify ways to communicate more uniformly the meaning of signal aspectsacross all railroad territories, and require the railroadsto implement as many uniform signal meanings as possible. — Require that emergency exits on new and remanufactured locomotive cabs provide

UP Recognizes Chemical Customers for Safety Excellence

March 27, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific recently announced the recipients of the railroad’s 13th annual Pinnacle Award for chemical transportation safety. The award annually recognizes companies that have successful prevention and corrective plans as well as a rate of zero non-accident releases (NARs) for shipments of regulated hazardous materials. “The Pinnacle Award gives Union Pacific the chance to acknowledge and thank our customers for their continuing efforts to eliminate chemical releases from rail cars,” said Diane Duren, vice president and general manager – chemicals. “We work closely with all customers to help prevent an accidental release during transit of chemical shipments

FRA: Reductions in Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Crashes

March 27, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — According to preliminary statistics released this month by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), total vehicle-train collisions at highway-rail grade crossings fell 13.8 percent, from 2,752 in 2007 to 2,373 in 2008. Another 286 fatalities involving trains and a car or truck occurred last year, 14.6 percent below 2007, and 913 injuries, a decrease of 12.9 percent from 2007, according to the FRA. “We are heartened by these safety gains, as our goal is to prevent casualties at highway-rail grade crossings,” said Operation Lifesaver, Inc. President Helen M. Sramek. “As part of our ongoing efforts, Operation Lifesaver has developed