Union Pacific Awards Palatine Grant to Promote Railroad Safety

Union Pacific Railroad has awarded the Palatine Police Department a $2,500 grant for driver and pedestrian education, rail safety enforcement and educational outreach at grade crossings and commuter stations, according to a press release.

Cmdr. Mike Seebacher, of the Palatine Police Department's Traffic Enforcement Unit, said the grant will be used next year to pay for officers to be hired back on overtime to specifically focus on rail safety initiatives.

"More specifically, that will mean an emphasis on citing drivers who either drive around activated railroad crossing gates or stop their vehicle on the RR tracks at the numerous crossings throughout Palatine," he said.

"It will also include assigning officers at our downtown commuter train station on foot patrol to warn people of the dangers of running across the tracks when a train is approaching. In extremely hazardous cases, citations may be issued to pedestrians who run across the tracks when a train is approaching. The goal is to prevent train vs. car and train vs. pedestrian accidents."

Palatine is one of 21 communities across 23 states within Union Pacific's operating system to receive a grant to promote railroad safety.

"Union Pacific developed the grant program to empower communities to be active railroad safety participants," said Bob Grimaila, vice president of Safety, Security and Environment at Union Pacific. "These organizations have taken the initiative to embrace railroad safety and care enough to ensure fellow community members understand how to be safe around railroad tracks."

The grant program is part of the UP CARES public safety initiative that promotes pedestrian and driver safety through a variety of outreach channels:

• Grade crossing education and enforcement, during which motorists violating rail crossing signage and laws are educated about the dangers of such actions. Related "positive enforcement" initiatives reward drivers who operate safely at grade crossings.

• Safety trains, hosting local law enforcement, media and public officials and providing them the opportunity to ride in the locomotive cab and see traffic violations from a locomotive engineer's point of view. This also allows Union Pacific to connect with community leaders and help them better understand the railroad's safety focus.

• Communication blitzes, which educate the public via community events, media outreach and paid advertising. Media outreach coincides with safety trains in UP communities.