GWI Safety

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.
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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.