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Transportation, Community Awareness and Emergency Response (TRANSCAER®) recently presented its 2003 National Achievement Award to Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Norfolk Southern Corp.

The award recognizes organizations that support TRANSCAER's nationwide community outreach program through organized activities, commitment, and financial and manpower assistance. The program is designed to promote chemical transportation emergency preparedness and awareness by fostering partnerships between chemical producers, distributors, carriers, first responders and government agencies.

Working in conjunction with such federal agencies as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, BNSF provided railroad emergency response and hazardous-materials awareness training to more than 4,600 emergency responders in more than 20 states last year. The Class I also provided training scholarships to emergency responders.

In 2003, NS conducted 84 TRANSCAER training programs, drills and exercises for about 3,500 emergency responders. The Class I also sponsored a "whistle-stop tour" through Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, where about 1,000 emergency responders received classroom and hands-on training from carrier, chemical company, emergency-response contractor and government instructors. In addition, NS provided firefighters scholarships to attend the Association of American Railroads' (AAR) Hazardous Materials Training Center in Pueblo, Colo.

TRANSCAER is sponsored by the American Chemistry Council, AAR, Chemical Educational Foundation, The Chlorine Institute and National Tank Truck Carriers.