NS, INRD perform rail safety outreach

Norfolk Southern is bringing its Train Your Brain public safety campaign to central and south Georgia to remind people to be safe and alert around railroad tracks and trains.Billboards, with photos and captions, such as "She needs story time" and "Your fan club is waiting," will remind motorists that their families and loved ones depend on them to return home safely. "The images are intended to grab drivers' attention and encourage them to cross tracks safely," said Cayela Wimberly, Norfolk Southern's director of grade-crossing safety. "Our goal is to save lives by educating people that trying to beat a train across railroad tracks or walking or playing on tracks is potentially deadly and always illegal." The billboards are going up in communities along the Interstate 75 corridor from Macon to Valdosta. Georgia was selected for this year's annual campaign because of the high number of deaths and injuries resulting from vehicle-train and trespassing incidents. In 2014, the state ranked fifth-highest in the U.S. in highway-rail grade crossing collisions and tenth-highest in trespassing incidents. The campaign's mascot, "Brainy," a giant wide-eyed pink walking brain, will make appearances at fairs, festivals and sporting events to remind people to be smart and alert at highway-rail grade crossings and to avoid trespassing on railroad property. In addition to the billboards, Train Your Brain safety messages will appear on gas pumps and ice chests at convenience stores, in movie theaters, on game tickets at 38 high schools and on homework folders at 63 public elementary schools. To encourage safe driving habits, rail safety kits will be distributed to 3,600 students enrolled in driver's education programs at 18 public high schools. Now in its ninth year, Norfolk Southern's "Train Your Brain" public safety campaign has run in Alabama, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee, reminding more than seven million people to make safe decisions around tracks and trains. Additionally in the name of safety, the Indiana Rail Road (INRD) and Indiana Operation Lifesaver hosted an "Officer on a Train" event June 2. Law enforcement officers from Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Johnson and Morgan counties and Indiana University participated in a train ride from Indianapolis to Bloomington and returned. A live video feed delivered real-time views from the front of the locomotive to participants, so officers could monitor the behavior of motorists and pedestrians on INDR mainline. The live feed also provided a point of discussion among law enforcement and railroad officials on how to better work together to promote grade-crossing collision prevention and trespassing prevention. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, 59 Indiana residents were killed or injured in preventable grade crossings accidents in 2014, which is 10 more than in 2013 and fourth highest among states, trailing only California, Illinois and Texas. The day after "Officer on a Train," June 3, is the 7th Annual International Level CrossingAwareness Day, created to send a message to public to act safely around grade crossings. "All too often, there are news headlines of a tragic yet wholly preventable accident involving a grade crossing collision or a trespasser who was struck by a train," said Eric Powell, INRD manager, intermodal and economic development. "Indiana Rail Road's infrastructure is in the best condition in its history, but our trains cannot stop on a dime to avoid collisions with motor vehicles or pedestrians. Through coordination with law enforcement, we hope to raise awareness about these vulnerabilities and to change public behavior around railroads. It's all in the name of protecting the public and our employees."