In commemoration of Pennsylvania's declaration of Railroad Safety Week May 11 to 18, 1998, APART (Active People Against Railroad Tragedies) is sponsoring railroad safety coloring and essay contests at the St Cyrils and East Lansdowne Basic schools. The winner of each contest will receive a gift certificate to the Springfield Mall. APART also arranged to have Operation Lifesaver do a safety presentation at the Holy Savior School in Marcus Hook.
Also, Amtrak and APART did a Safety Blitz at the Folcroft Station at 3:30 PM Thursday May 14, 1998.. Amtrak and APART board members Marlene Boylan and Barbara Vinnacombe handed out railroad safety literature to the general public and commuters using that station. The blitz ended approximately 6:00 PM. This event helped to educate people about the dangers of using this station as a short cut. APART would like to thank Amtrak for their continued commitment to improving railroad safety.
At APART's request, Senator Joseph Loeper authored and introduced Senate Resolution Number 160, on March 30, 1998, declaring May 11 to 18, 1998 as Pennsylvania's first Railroad Safety Week. The resolution was adopted by the full Senate on March 30, 1998. Additionaly, Representative Mario Civera introduced House resolution No. 412 on April 1, 1998. House Resolutition No. 412 was passed by the House on April 21, 1998. The resoution also calls for adopting the week of May11 to 18 as Railroad Safety Week. The week will be set aside to help educate the general public about the dangers that railroad tracks present.
APART asked Senator Loeper and Representative Civera to introduce this resolutions in response to the increasing number of railroad fatalities in Pennsylvania. The following are excerpts of Senate and House Resolutions.
Whereas, there are over 90 accidents at railroad crossing in Pennsylvania each year and
Whereas, Pennsylvania has over 3,500 unguarded public railroad crossings, more than all but two other states, and
Whereas, these tragic and often avoidable deaths have inspired Delaware County residents to form Active People Against Railroad Tragedies (APART) and
Whereas, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Operation Lifesaver, the railroad industry and railroad safety groups, including the DuPage Railroad Safety Council of Hinsdale, Illinois, Hands Across the Rails of Liberty Center, Ohio and Protect All Crossings, of Douglas Wyoming, are working with APART to improve railroad safety and to inform people of all ages of the dangers near railroad operations
Therefore be it resolved that the Senate designate the week of May 11 through 17, 1998 as Railroad Safety Week in Pennsylvania, applaud governmental, industry and citizen efforts to improve railroad crossing safety and strongly urge all Pennsylvanians:
On the evening of March 31,1998, in Norwood Borough Hall, APART held a meeting with officials from the CSX Corporation to discuss the unsafe conditions that exist on their line through Delaware County.
Those in attendance were:
CSX officials, Borough officials from Darby, Collingdale, Glenolden, Norwood,
Ridley Township, Yeadon, Officials from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and
APART's Executive Board.
The Borough officials in attendance identified many of the unsafe sites in their boroughs. APART and Allen Ludwig of the FRA offered many solutions to these problem sites, however CSX refused to make a commitment to any engineering upgrades. CSX only suggested putting up additional No Trespassing signs.
Allen Ludwig informed CSX that the FRA would stipulate that CSX run their trains at
"a restricted speed" through the very densely populated Borough of Darby.
The Radnor School Board asked APART to speak at the Commissioners meeting to persuade them to reconsider their position about the location of the new elementary school. On 03/09/98, APART presented their concerns to the Board of Commissioners at their monthly meeting.
As a result of APART's presentation, and other residence speaking out against the train station site for the new school, the Commissioners decided against the train station site.
School Board member Anne Albright wrote, "APART members played a crucial role"
in persuading the Board of Commissioners to change their proposal.
Since the inception of
APART,
in June - 1994, many petition drives have been held, in which we netted over 6,000 signatures of the citizenship in local communities, to support of our effort to make the railroads safer. Also, at APART's request, 19 Boroughs or Townships in
Delaware County Pa. have passed resolutions asking for increased safety measures to be taken at the passenger stations and along the tracks that run through their communities.
The Resolutions passed to date
are individually drafted but all read basically the same or are very similar.
They:
(1) - Urge the management of Amtrak,
SEPTA and the elected state public officials having jurisdiction over the
regulation and use of the Right-of-Way, to find a solution and to
take all actions necessary to prevent any further needless tragedies.
(2) - The same parties are urged
to institute a campaign to educate the general public and all students
in schools within the specific community as to the dangers crossing the
Right-of-Way presents to pedestrians.
(3) - The same parties are requested
to take all actions necessary to reasonably limit pedestrian access to
the Railroads Right-of-Way.
09/06/1994 the Mayor and Borough Council of East Lansdowne, Delaware
County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 17-94
10/19/1994 the Council of Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 129-94
10/19/1994 the Borough Council of Lansdowne, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 94-22
04/11/1996 the Borough Council of Colwyn, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 04
05/23/1996 the Borough Council of Sharon Hill, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 205-R of 1996
06/05/1996 the Borough Council of Darby, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. (use date)
08/26/1996 the Borough Council of Norwood, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 96-5
08/28/1996 the Township of Ridley Board of Commissioners, Delaware County,
PA
passed Resolution NO. (none)
10/08/1996 the Borough Council of Ridley Park, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 26-96
10/10/1996 the Borough Council of Glenolden, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 07-96
10/14/1996 the Borough Council of Eddystone, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 19
11/04/1996 the Borough Council of Marcus Hook, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. R-96-11
11/14/1996 the Borough Council of Trainer, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 781
02/04/1998 the Borough Council of Darby, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. NONE
02/10/1998 the Borough Council of Upland, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 4
02/12/1998 the Borough Council of Trainer, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 1-98
02/26/1998 the Borough Council of Sharon Hill, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 218-R
03/12/1998 the Township Council of Upper Chichester, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 98-30
03/23/1998 the Borough Council of Norwood, Delaware County, PA
passed Resolution NO. 98-04
In January 1995, APART persuaded the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to install fences, barriers and new warning signs at a sight in Delaware County Pa. where 7 people have been killed by trains since the mid 1980's.
In December 1996 at APART's request Amtrak agreed to install fences and improved warning signs at the 13 passenger stations in Delaware County ( Delco ). They also agreed to step up their efforts in the areas of education and enforcement.
In spite of 5 deaths by Amtrak trains, in Delco in 1996, Amtrak still believes that a 100 Mph train is safe and has refused APART's repeated request to slow down.
On May 13, 1997 the Council of Delaware County Pa. passed a resolution to declare the week of May 11th - 17th, the Railroad Safety Week. With the help of railroad officials, members of the House of Representatives, and the Pennsylvania House and Senate members, APART hopes, within the next year or two, to make this a national event. Like Fire Prevention Week.
On March 30, 1998, At APART's request, Senator Joseph Loeper authored and introduced Senate Resolution Number 160, declaring May 11 to 18, 1998 as
Memorial selection page U.S. state A-Z and all other Countries
Injury selection page U.S. state A-Z and all other Countries
Submit Accident information to APART, for Memorial and/or Injury page.
LINKS to other sights of interest
