LAKEVILLE, N.Y. - On March 24, 2005, the American Short Line and Regional
Railroad Association announced the winners of its 2004 Safety Awards.
Falconer, NY-based Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad (WNYP) won the
Gold Safety Award in the 10,001-50,000 man-hours category, nationwide. This
is the first such award for WNYP since its startup four years ago.
WNYP is a subsidiary of Lakeville-based Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad
(LAL), which won the Copper Safety Award in the same man-hours class. This
marks the fourth time in five years that LAL has won one of these national
awards. LAL won the Silver Safety Award for 2000 and 2002, and the Copper
Award for 2003.
The award program, which according to ASLRRA "has become one of the premier
safety recognition programs in the rail industry," recognizes railroads that
had the fewest reportable injuries per man-hour during the year, as reported
to the Federal Railroad Administration. ASLRRA member railroads are
classified into 1-10,000, 10,001-50,000, 50,001-250,000, and 250,001 or more
man-hour categories. Switching and terminal railroads have their own
category. Gold, silver, bronze, and copper awards are given in each
category.
Co-sponsored by the National Academy of Railroad Sciences and Marsh USA, the
awards will be presented at the association's annual meeting April 4 in
Anaheim, California.
LAL also will receive ASLRRA's "Jake With Distinction" Award, which
recognizes short line and regional railroads that operate without any
reportable fatalities, injuries, or train accidents. In 2004, LAL and its
Victor, NY-based subsidiary Ontario Central Railroad (ONCT), operated
without a reportable fatality, injury, or train derailment. LAL and its
subsidiaries have won several Jake Awards over the past decade. ONCT, which
has had eight consecutive years without an FRA-reportable injury, is not an
ASLRRA member.
"Once again, I want to congratulate our people on their impressive safety
record, then ask them not to take success for granted," said William D.
Burt, president and chief operating officer of LAL and its subsidiaries.
"When the railroad safety movement began a century ago, its founders
recognized the need to continually devise new ways to maintain safety
awareness. In 1905, their answer consisted of slogans, pamphlets, and
rallies, in addition to traditional rule enforcement. Likewise, today's
conventional wisdom is to create a new program for every problem."
"While these things can play a role, real safety awareness comes from a
continuing effort to identify and correct practices and situations that can
be improved," Burt said. "It takes the whole team-the employees who see
things in the field, management, and the board of directors who approve
expenditures to make improvements."
While railroad safety has improved dramatically over the last several
decades, grade crossing accidents and trespasser injuries continue to be a
concern. Progress in these areas will be slower than it should be unless
government does its part, contends Burt, who advocates changes in driver
manuals and license tests, along with increased funding for driver education
courses and Operation Lifesaver, which provides education on these issues
nationwide.
"Driver manuals often have very little to say about the rules of the road at
grade crossings. With the elimination of driver education courses in many
schools, we are producing a generation of motorists who do not realize that
they must approach crossings of all types prepared to STOP if a train is in
sight, whether or not there are crossing gates blocking their path," Burt
said, "and it doesn't help that many motorists are cocooned in an electronic
world of cell phones, video, and booming speakers."
Likewise, children must be taught not to use railroad tracks as a
playground. "It is simply indefensible that we send kids into the world
without this basic education in personal safety," Burt said.
Today's LAL is a 282-mile system operating in seven counties in New York and
Pennsylvania. LAL operates between Lakeville and Rochester in New York's
Livingston and Monroe Counties, B&H operates between Painted Post and
Wayland in New York's Steuben County, ONCT operates between Shortsville and
Victor in New York's Ontario County, and the Western New York & Pennsylvania
Railroad operates between Hornell, N.Y. and Meadville, Pa.
Contact:
William D. Burt
(585) 346-2090 ph.
wburt@...
ASLRRA's announcement can be found at:
http://www.aslrra.org/whats_in_the_news/views_and_news/
Railroad Association announced the winners of its 2004 Safety Awards.
Falconer, NY-based Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad (WNYP) won the
Gold Safety Award in the 10,001-50,000 man-hours category, nationwide. This
is the first such award for WNYP since its startup four years ago.
WNYP is a subsidiary of Lakeville-based Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad
(LAL), which won the Copper Safety Award in the same man-hours class. This
marks the fourth time in five years that LAL has won one of these national
awards. LAL won the Silver Safety Award for 2000 and 2002, and the Copper
Award for 2003.
The award program, which according to ASLRRA "has become one of the premier
safety recognition programs in the rail industry," recognizes railroads that
had the fewest reportable injuries per man-hour during the year, as reported
to the Federal Railroad Administration. ASLRRA member railroads are
classified into 1-10,000, 10,001-50,000, 50,001-250,000, and 250,001 or more
man-hour categories. Switching and terminal railroads have their own
category. Gold, silver, bronze, and copper awards are given in each
category.
Co-sponsored by the National Academy of Railroad Sciences and Marsh USA, the
awards will be presented at the association's annual meeting April 4 in
Anaheim, California.
LAL also will receive ASLRRA's "Jake With Distinction" Award, which
recognizes short line and regional railroads that operate without any
reportable fatalities, injuries, or train accidents. In 2004, LAL and its
Victor, NY-based subsidiary Ontario Central Railroad (ONCT), operated
without a reportable fatality, injury, or train derailment. LAL and its
subsidiaries have won several Jake Awards over the past decade. ONCT, which
has had eight consecutive years without an FRA-reportable injury, is not an
ASLRRA member.
"Once again, I want to congratulate our people on their impressive safety
record, then ask them not to take success for granted," said William D.
Burt, president and chief operating officer of LAL and its subsidiaries.
"When the railroad safety movement began a century ago, its founders
recognized the need to continually devise new ways to maintain safety
awareness. In 1905, their answer consisted of slogans, pamphlets, and
rallies, in addition to traditional rule enforcement. Likewise, today's
conventional wisdom is to create a new program for every problem."
"While these things can play a role, real safety awareness comes from a
continuing effort to identify and correct practices and situations that can
be improved," Burt said. "It takes the whole team-the employees who see
things in the field, management, and the board of directors who approve
expenditures to make improvements."
While railroad safety has improved dramatically over the last several
decades, grade crossing accidents and trespasser injuries continue to be a
concern. Progress in these areas will be slower than it should be unless
government does its part, contends Burt, who advocates changes in driver
manuals and license tests, along with increased funding for driver education
courses and Operation Lifesaver, which provides education on these issues
nationwide.
"Driver manuals often have very little to say about the rules of the road at
grade crossings. With the elimination of driver education courses in many
schools, we are producing a generation of motorists who do not realize that
they must approach crossings of all types prepared to STOP if a train is in
sight, whether or not there are crossing gates blocking their path," Burt
said, "and it doesn't help that many motorists are cocooned in an electronic
world of cell phones, video, and booming speakers."
Likewise, children must be taught not to use railroad tracks as a
playground. "It is simply indefensible that we send kids into the world
without this basic education in personal safety," Burt said.
Today's LAL is a 282-mile system operating in seven counties in New York and
Pennsylvania. LAL operates between Lakeville and Rochester in New York's
Livingston and Monroe Counties, B&H operates between Painted Post and
Wayland in New York's Steuben County, ONCT operates between Shortsville and
Victor in New York's Ontario County, and the Western New York & Pennsylvania
Railroad operates between Hornell, N.Y. and Meadville, Pa.
Contact:
William D. Burt
(585) 346-2090 ph.
wburt@...
ASLRRA's announcement can be found at:
http://www.aslrra.org/whats_in_the_news/views_and_news/
~Greg Graves
