Operation Lifesaver celebrates 50 years of rail safety education
Written by David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief
Left to Right above: Speakers at the event in Denver Union Station were Karl Alexy, Federal Railroad Administration; Jo Strang, Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) Board Chair, ASLRRA; Rachel Maleh, OLI; and Isabelle Fonverne, UIC.
OLI
Rail safety education is a necessity in Colorado and throughout the nation. Every 3 hours in the U.S., a person or vehicle is hit by a train.
In Colorado each year, approximately 34 people are killed or injured in grade crossing and trespassing incidents. Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), the non-profit rail safety education and awareness organization dedicated to reducing collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail crossings and preventing trespassing on or near railroad tracks, works to prevent these needless incidents from happening.
Visiting Denver is a specially painted Amtrak P-42 diesel locomotive, emblazoned on both sides with the message, “See Tracks? Think Train!” The locomotive was released into service earlier this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Operation Lifesaver and share the rail safety message across the nation.
“Over the past five decades, Operation Lifesaver and its partners have helped reduce railroad crossing incidents by 84 percent, from 12,000 in 1972, the year Operation Lifesaver started, to 1,900 in 2020. But there is still work to be done,” Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) Executive Director Rachel Maleh said. “We welcome the commemorative locomotive to Denver as we kick off the International Level Crossing Awareness Day conference in Denver later today and welcome rail safety partners from around the world gathering together to stop track tragedies.”
Joining Operation Lifesaver in Denver are international rail safety experts representing the 3 E’s – Education, Engineering and Enforcement.
“The Federal Railroad Administration is pleased to celebrate Operation Lifesaver’s 50th anniversary as well as our long-term partnership,” stated Karl Alexy, Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety & Chief Safety Officer. “FRA’s work with Operation Lifesaver supports our mission to enable the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of people and goods. As the Amtrak locomotive behind me states, ‘See Tracks? Think Train!’”
Said International Union of Railways (UIC) Senior Advisor, Safety and Interoperability, Isabelle Fonverne, “International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) is a worldwide initiative to improve awareness of level crossing safety. Since 2009 the campaign has been spearheaded by UIC, the worldwide railway organisation, with the support of the railway community around the world. Learn more about ILCAD at ilcad.org. We are honored to be here to welcome the Operation Lifesaver locomotive to Denver. Together, we can #STOPTrackTragedies.”
“As Chair of the OLI board I am impressed with the organization’s steadfast commitment to the rail safety message over the years. Our reach has expanded thanks to the efforts of our state coordinators across the country, our federal and private partners as well as the work of staff and my fellow board members,” stated Jo Strang, Senior VP Safety, Regulatory and Environmental Policy at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. “Thank you to Amtrak for their continued partnership in sharing the rail safety message and for supporting Operation Lifesaver’s 50th anniversary with this commemorative locomotive that travels across the country sharing the rail safety message in a very visual way,” Strang continued.
“We urge everyone to join us in stopping track tragedies, making the safe choice around tracks and trains and by taking the rail safety pledge on our website, oli.org. We will continue with our mission critical work until the number of crossing and trespass incidents throughout the nation reaches zero,” Maleh concluded.
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