Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI), in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh, announced $220,000 in competitive rail safety awareness grants to Operation Lifesaver programs in 11 states. The FRA provided $175,000 of the total funding.

The FRA-funded grants will be awarded to Operation Lifesaver organizations in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington. Funding from the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh will fund Operation Lifesaver grant projects in Missouri and South Carolina and supplement the Connecticut grant project.

The grants will fund a variety of crossing safety and trespass prevention public education projects, which also will be conducted in conjunction with the nonprofit safety group’s observance of “See Tracks? Think Train!” Week, September 23 to 29.

“FRA wholeheartedly supports the lifesaving work of Operation Lifesaver Inc. as grade crossing and trespass incidents still occur with alarming frequency,” said James Payne, staff director of the FRA Grade Crossing and Trespasser Outreach Division. “These competitive grants provide critical funding to OLI state organizations whose efforts effectively combat the problem of preventable railway deaths and injuries.”

Projects Funded

Projects funded by the FRA grants include:

• California Operation Lifesaver will run a geofencing and digital trespass awareness ad campaign during September’s Calif., Rail Safety Month and See Tracks? Think Train! Week to reach at-risk populations in the state's top 15 counties for trespass and near-miss incidents.

• Connecticut Operation Lifesaver’s project involves rail safety education messaging using streaming video, website display ads, social media, and podcasts targeting high rail traffic areas starting in August and ending at the end of September to include See Tracks? Think Train! Week.

• Illinois Operation Lifesaver's grade crossing safety and trespass prevention education campaign from July through September will encompass TV commercials, streaming videos, and digital display ads, as well as community events and in-person training sessions targeting law enforcement, emergency dispatchers, schools, and professional drivers in the Chicagoland, Springfield, and East St. Louis areas.

• New York Operation Lifesaver will target audiences in Long Island, combining a rail safety education banner towed by an airplane over the beaches during the summer with a Geofence online campaign during September. The campaign will include a series of crossing safety education events during See Tracks? Think Train! Week.

The Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh grant will supplement funding for the Connecticut campaign and fully fund campaigns in the following states:

• Missouri Operation Lifesaver will run a radio and digital ad campaign targeting drivers and agricultural road users statewide from May through September with an additional campaign in seven counties that account for 70% of railroad crossing incidents across the state.

• South Carolina Operation Lifesaver's project focuses on partnering with community area transportation in the city of Charleston to target transit riders, pedestrians and motorists with an ad campaign that will run for a quarter of the year in conjunction with in-person events and safety materials distribution communicating rail education.

The approved grants were awarded through a competitive process, with selection based on criteria such as the defined safety need, the number of highway-rail collisions and trespass incidents in the state and how the proposal leverages federal funds with private partnerships.