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 2010, 53 of GWI's 62 railroads were injury free, and GWI
achieved an overall injury frequency rate of 0.51 per 200,000 man
hours. This is nearly eight times better than the short line peer
group average, better than any Class I railroad and nearly three
times better than the Class I railroad average.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
(ASLRRA) recognized 42 GWI railroads with the
Jake Award With Distinction for 2010, 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 three
ASLRRA President's Awards, for most hours of injury-free
operation, best safety rate in the 250,000+ man-hours category and
most improved safety performance -- the latter in recognition its
200 employees working injury-free for all of 2008, 2009 and 2010
after sustaining six reportable injuries in 2007. GWI's Bay Line
Railroad also won the President's Award for best safety
rate in the 50,000-150,000 man-hours category.
The Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad also received its
second-consecutive E.H. Harriman Gold Award for
the best employee safety record among railroads working less than
four million employee-hours in 2010.
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 two
years, our employees made 745 Operation Lifesaver presentations to
more than 38,000 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.