CSX launches Operation Respond
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefAs part of an ongoing focus on community emergency preparedness and training, CSX is introducing “CSX Operation Respond,” a new mobile information system that it says “will enhance first responders’ ability to access train and cargo information in real time via their mobile devices.”
CSX Operation Respond, according Vice President-Public Safety, Health and Environment Skip Elliott, “will provide firefighters, police officers and other emergency responders with easy mobile access to critical information that supports safe and accurate response to emergencies, helping to protect both communities and responders themselves.”
The new program is a collaborative product of the Operation Respond Institute, “an industry leader in providing real-time rail information, and CSX’s public safety and technology teams,,” said Elliott. “CSX Operation Respond, the first program of its kind among Class I railroads, is an important new component of our continuing efforts to advance the company’s first priority: the safety of communities, employees and customers’ freight. The CSX team is consistently focused on working with partners like the Operation Respond Institute to provide timely access to critical information, and this tool was developed in response to feedback from our partners across our network.”
CSX Operation Respond allows first responders to securely access information about hazardous materials being transported by any individual CSX train using their wireless devices, laptops, or desktop computers. In addition to a graphically displayed train list that allows emergency responders to quickly locate and identify the contents of railcars carrying hazardous materials, the program provides emergency responders with a portfolio of other useful information designed to assist when responding to a rail-related transportation emergency.
“The availability of CSX Operation Respond builds on our longstanding commitment to communicate and collaborate with and train first responder organizations, including local fire, police, and emergency services units,” said Elliott. “We also leverage the power of technology for timely information-sharing through our SecureNOW program, which gives key federal, state, and local security partner agencies access to near real-time information about CSX trains. In addition, in 2014 we have already trained more than 1,300 first responders from more than 250 agencies through our Safety Train: Energy Preparedness Program, which focuses on providing specialized hands-on training for rail-related hazardous materials incidents. The Safety Train builds on our comprehensive first responder training program that includes hands-on sessions at our hazmat training center in Atlanta, Ga. and the Association of American Railroads emergency response training center in Pueblo, Colo. We also provide classroom training at local fire stations, conduct exercises and table-top drills, and offer web-based and self-study courses.”
