Rail Safety Briefs: CSX, OLI
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
The painted CSXT 4568 will travel across the railroad’s network to help raise awareness on rail safety.
CSX unveils new Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) Rail Safety commemorative locomotive for Rail Safety Week. Also, OLI opens 2022 call for applications for Rail Transit Safety Grants.
As CSX gears up for Rail Safety Week, Sept. 19-25, the Class I, via a LinkedIn post, unveiled the new OLI Rail Safety commemorative locomotive.
CSXT 4568 has been painted at CSX’s Huntington, W. Va., locomotive shop and will travel across the railroad’s network to help raise awareness on how to be safe around highway-rail grade crossings and railroad tracks, the Class I said in the post.
Click here to view a video of the newly painted CSXT 4568.
Meanwhile, on Sept. 9, OLI announced that the application period is open for its competitive Rail Transit Safety Education Grants, which offer a total of $200,000 in funding for transit agencies and government entities that provide transit service to conduct rail transit safety education and public awareness initiatives.
According to OLI Executive Director Rachel Maleh, grant amounts are capped at $20,000 and require non-federal matching funds of at least 25% of project costs. Projects must be focused on safety education or public awareness initiatives in communities with operating or planned rail transit systems (commuter rail, light rail, subway and streetcar). OLI, Maleh says, must approve all materials created as part of the grant and all grants must be coordinated with state OLI programs.
“OLI is pleased to open its 2022 call for applications for Rail Transit Safety Education Grants, which have helped transit agencies across the nation share the rail safety message since 2002,” said Maleh. “We are grateful to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the agency’s continuing support that helps make these grants, as well as our ongoing rail safety education and outreach efforts, possible.”
All applications must be submitted via the Common Grant Application online grant processing program by Oct. 17, 2022. Grant awards will be announced by Dec. 1, 2022.
For detailed information on how to apply for the grant, required elements of the application and evaluation guidelines, click here.
