The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced the winners of the annual Rail Safety & Security Excellence Awards, which recognizes rail systems in North America for their excellence in safety and security programs and operations. The awards ceremony took place on June 19, at the 2016 APTA Rail Conference, which was held in Phoenix, AZ.
"Public transportation employees strive every day to make our passengers daily commutes safe and reliable," said APTA Acting President and CEO Richard White. "It is my pleasure to recognize these innovative programs that make our already safe industry safer. Every time a system introduces a new technology or program, that improvement literally can equate to lives saved."
"Congratulations to all the winners, but more to the point, congratulations to all these participants who thought outside the box and tried something new," said APTA Chair Valarie J. McCall. "When an organization successfully branches out and incorporates new ideas, it serves as a model for others to make our industry even safer."
Category: Gold Awards
GOLD Award for Heavy Rail Security – Maryland Transit Administration, Baltimore, MD - for the ZEUS Program which stands for "Zone Enforced Unified Sweeps", which has seen a 49% reduction in Part One major crime on the subway.
GOLD Award for Commuter Rail Safety – MTA Metro-North Railroad, New York, NY – implemented a new procedure for protecting track workers. Under this innovative system only the foreman in the field can release the track for trains with a unique code that the train dispatcher does not have.
GOLD Award for Light Rail Safety – Maryland Transit Administration, Baltimore, MD – for the Maryland Light Rail Railroad Worker Protection (RWP) Program, since the implementation of the RWP there have been no employee injuries or fatalities from on-track safety.
Category: Certificate of Merit
Certificate of Merit for Light Rail Safety – San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, San Diego, CA – for its "Building on a Foundation of Safety" initiative.
Certificate of Merit for Light Rail Safety – Utah Transit Authority, (TRAX) Salt Lake City, UT – for the "TRAX Light Rail Pedestrian Treatments and Enhancements."
