TRAINING
Safety train making Garden State stop
This year, quite a lot is happening in the rail safety
field for police and first responders.
I was honored to be invited to Washington, D.C.,
in early February to participate in a blue ribbon
panel of railroad professionals tasked with creating
a comprehensive rail safety program. The group was
made up of railroad police, Federal Railroad Admin-
istration personnel, Operation Lifesaver manage-
THOMAS J. ment and other experienced rail professionals.
Our working group created a new railroad inci-
JEDIC
dent management and scene safety curriculum that
will be presented nationwide in 2020. The presentation is informa-
tive, thorough and designed to be taught as a service offering that
can be modified to fit time constraints. It addresses how to safely
approach and operate in a railroad environment, including secur-
ing the track(s) and creating and managing a safe zone to ensure
that your personnel are not in danger.
On the home front, Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), through its
Operation Awareness and Response (OAR) training program, has
made a commitment to New Jersey for 2019. The NS safety train
will make a three-day stop in the Garden State to educate all of us,
and it’s free. The OAR train, in association with TRANSCAER, will
pull into Jersey City on June 25 at our Croxton Intermodal yard,
125 County Road. Training will take place in four-hour blocks and
provide hands-on experience with rail equipment.
The class schedule is as follows:
• Tuesday, June 25 — 0800-1200, 1300-1700 and 1800-2130
• Wednesday, June 26 — 1300-1700 and 1800-2130
• Thursday, June 27 — 0830-1230
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2019
Participants will be trained in safety on railroad property, rail
shipping documents, rail equipment identification, rail tank cars,
locomotive fires, incident response procedures, working with rail-
road officials and how to use the AskRail App.
Attendees will need to wear sturdy boots with a defined heel (no
open-toed footwear). If your agency provides personal protective
equipment (PPE), bring it along as part of the training.
For any officer who has taken academy-based rail safety courses
taught by me or anyone else, this hands-on OAR course is a must.
To actually see and work on and along this display of equipment
is a rare chance to get familiar with rail cars and locomotives in
a controlled environment. NS instructor Scott Gould, a seasoned
educator at OAR, will be available to answer any questions that
participants have regarding incident safety.
Attendees will also see the NS first responder tribute locomotive
and have an opportunity to photograph their agency personnel
with this striking dedicated engine.
I hope that readers will take advantage of this free training. If
you have any questions, call or email me. If you have rail assets
in your community or are a member of any ESU, SWAT or county
unit, this program will definitely help make you safer while at any
rail scene.
Stay safe!
For OAR class info, contact Scott Gould of NS OAR at 717-461-
6069 or [email protected].
Special Agent Thomas Jedic is a member of the Norfolk Southern
Railroad Police Special Operations Response Team (SORT) and an
executive board member of NJ Operation Lifesaver.