(RailAmerica issued the following news release on May 12.)
BOCA RATON, Fla — RailAmerica, Inc. today announced that the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has recognized 15 RailAmerica railroads with 17 awards for their outstanding safety records during 2002. In addition, RailAmerica’s Toledo, Peoria & Western (TPW) railroad was honored for its marketing excellence.
RailAmerica’s Missouri & Northern Arkansas and San Joaquin Valley railroads were awarded the Gold and Silver safety awards, respectively, in the 50,001 to 250,000 man-hours worked category. Furthermore, 15 RailAmerica lines were selected for Jake with Distinction Awards, which are given to railroads that did not have a reportable injury in all of 2002. Those railroads are:
— Arizona & California Railroad,
— Central Railroad Company of Indianapolis,
— Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad,
— Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad,
— Michigan Shore Railroad,
— Mid-Michigan Railroad,
— Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad,
— Indiana Southern Railroad,
— North Carolina & Virginia Railroad,
— Otter Tail Valley Railroad,
— San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad,
— San Joaquin Valley Railroad,
— San Pedro & Southwestern Railway,
— Ventura County Railroad, and
— Virginia Southern Railroad.
The Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway was honored by the ASLRRA for its innovative intermodal solution to transport contaminated soil from Barrie Park in Oak Park, Illinois. The TPW, in conjunction with its Class I connection, safely transported the contaminated soil a distance of 152 miles to Peoria Disposal Company (PDC), a qualified landfill in Peoria, Illinois. The complete logistics package included the inbound rail movement with a backhaul of “replacement” soil, intermodal operations and round trip truck moves. “In addition to generating new business from Barrie Park, this project has shown TPW’s potential to several partners that will contribute to our long-term success,” said Mike Klass, Regional Director of Marketing & Sales. “TPW’s work with PDC has resulted in a cost effective solution for the customer that has allowed them to push this complicated project forward.”
Now in its fourth year, the ASLRRA Safety Awards program has become the standard by which all short line and regional railroads are measured.
RailAmerica, Inc. (NYSE:RRA) is the world’s largest short line and regional railroad operator with 49 railroads operating approximately 12,900 miles in the United States, Canada, Australia and Chile. In Australia and Argentina, an additional 4,300 miles are operated under track access arrangements. The Company is a member of the Russell 2000(R) Index. http://www.railamerica.com