Agency to Talk Safety with Customers
MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) today announced its twice yearly Customer Safety Day Event will take place on Thursday, Dec. 14, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Penn Station’s LIRR Concourse near the Customer Service Ticket Booth. This event is designed to bring awareness to the various LIRR programs and initiatives that help keep customers and employees safe on a daily basis. The event helps showcase behaviors and best practices for customers while they traverse LIRR property, and board and exit train.
“These safety events are a great opportunity to interact with our riders to talk about the importance of staying safe around railroad tracks, on trains and in all of our stations,” said Acting LIRR President Rob Free. “Safety is at the center of everything we do, and these outreach events allow us to spread that message and educate customers on helpful tips for keeping safe.”
The LIRR will be joined by partner agencies and other internal participants. The safety teams will give away Safety Sam mouse pads, lens cleaners, train stress relievers, activity books, pens and pencils, and brochures explaining the T.R.A.C.K.S. Program, which stands for Together Railroads and Communities Keeping Safe.
The T.R.A.C.K.S. Program is a FREE program and a joint venture between LIRR Corporate Safety Department and the MTA Police Department. The program stresses the importance of safety at grade crossings and the dangers of being on or near the tracks. The objective of our school age T.R.A.C.K.S. Program is to teach basic train safety and to reinforce important points such as staying off the tracks, the dangers of the third rail, platform safety, and railroad crossings. We have programs suitable and customizable for Pre-K to adult and for schools, day care centers, professional driver groups, civic, senior, and fraternal organizations and special needs groups. The programs are supplemented with appropriate videos as well as handouts. The length of the program varies from 30 to 45 minutes. The program can be delivered in a small setting such as a classroom or in a large auditorium, whichever suits the group’s needs.
Additionally, the LIRR engages in Operation Lifesaver (OLI) Events throughout each month and when deemed necessary. Operation Lifesaver is a non-profit organization providing public education programs in all 50 states, in an effort to prevent collisions, injuries and fatalities on and around railroad tracks and highway-rail grade crossings. LIRR’s Operation Lifesaver Program is authorized by Operation Lifesaver, Inc. We are committed to working closely with all levels of government as well as school districts, police departments, fire departments and community groups. We want to educate the public and share critical concerns about the dangers of trespassing, the third rail, and driving/walking around lowered gates. We also address using caution at stations and when boarding/exiting trains.