Safety is our number-one priority at GWI
every day.
Since our crews are on and off equipment much more frequently in
short line railroading and industrial switching, we're proud that
our safety record surpasses the Class I railroads.
For 2011, GWI achieved an overall injury frequency rate of
0.53 per 200,000 man hours. This is nearly
seventimes better than the short line peer group
average, better than any Class I railroad and twice as safe as the
Class I railroad average.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
(ASLRRA) recognized 36 GWI railroads with the
Jake Award With Distinction for 2011, which
is presented to member railroads who complete the year with perfect
safety records.
Click here to see the winners. Among them, GWI's
Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad received the
ASLRRA President's Award for best safety
record in the 250,000+ man-hours category.
Tyrone James, GWI vice president of safety and compliance, was
named ASLRRA Safety Professional of the Year.
James joined GWI in 2005 in the Oregon Region, which logged more
than 1.8 million consecutive injury-free man-hours from 2006-2010.
Since assuming his current position in 2007, GWI’s personal
injuries have declined 68% from levels that were already well ahead
of industry averages.
Mark Sheffield, mechanical supervisor at GWI's South Buffalo
Railway, became the only short line railroad employee ever to win
the prestigious Harold F. Hammond Award for
outstanding achievement in safety.
Click here for a video on Mark's accomplishments.
The
Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad also received its
third-consecutive E.H. Harriman Gold Award for the
best employee safety record among railroads working between 250,000
and four million employee-hours in 2011. The E.H. Harriman
Silver Award also went to GWI's
Portland & Western Railroad.
Safety is never "fixed," and we are committed to continuous
improvement. Our goal is for every one of our operating regions to
be injury-free, every day.
Public
Education
To educate the public about grade-crossing safety, GWI has
dramatically expanded its participation in Operation Lifesaver, a national,
nonprofit education and awareness program dedicated to ending
tragic collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail grade
crossings and on railroad rights of way. In the last three
years, our employees made 1,000 Operation Lifesaver presentations
to more than 50,000 schoolchildren, school bus drivers and other
individuals to discuss the importance of rail-crossing
safety.
Here's what you can do
to stay safe around trains...
Never tresspass on any railroad property or right of
way!
Doing so is illegal and risks serious injury or
death.
Cross only at designated pedestrian or roadway crossings!
Look for a train moving from either direction -- and then
look for a second train from either
direction.
Always expect a train!
Trains do not have set schedules and can approach from
either direction at any time of day or night.
Trains do not take holidays.
Don't stand next to tracks!
Trains can overhang the tracks by three feet on either
side, and straps and tiedowns can extend even
further.
Never try to beat a train!
Because of their size, you cannot judge a train's speed or
distance. Trains cannot make sudden stops. Remember that a
locomotive weighs 200 tons. An automobile being hit by a train is
equivalent to a soda can being hit by an automobile.