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Norfolk Southern Corp. May 2 won its 13th consecutive gold E. H. Harriman Memorial Safety Award in Group A, which comprises railroads posting 15 million annual employee-hours.
CSX Transportation took home the Group A silver award and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the bronze.
In Group B (comprising railroads registering four to 15 million employee-hours), Kansas City Southern won its second consecutive gold, Illinois Central Railroad (Canadian National Railway Co.) took silver, and Wisconsin Central Ltd. (CN) grabbed bronze.
For Group C (comprising railroads recording fewer than 4 million employee-hours), Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Railway (CN) was awarded gold; Guilford Rail System, silver; and Paducah and Louisville Railway Inc., bronze.
And in Group S&T (comprising switching and terminal companies), Conrail earned gold; The Belt Railway of Chicago, silver; and The Alton and Southern Railway Co., bronze.
Four railroads also received special certificates of commendation for continuous improvement in safety performance: Florida East Coast Railway; Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District; Union Railroad Co.; and Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd.
E. H. Harriman awards were founded in 1913 by the late Mrs. Mary W. Harriman in memory of her husband, American railroading pioneer Edward H. Harriman. The awards are administered by E.H. Harriman Memorial Awards Institute with support from the Mary W. Harriman Foundation.
The awards are based on the lowest casualty rates per 200,000 employee-hours worked, taking into account a railroad's work volume, and the number of fatalities, injuries and occupational illnesses confirmed by Federal Railroad Administration.
Meanwhile, BNSF carman Johnnie Matz, Jr. won the Harold F. Hammond Award, which was established in 1986 to recognize an individual railroad employee demonstrating outstanding safety achievement during the preceding year.
The award's named after the late Harold F. Hammond, former president of Transportation Association of America, who served many years as Harriman Awards selection committee chairman.
Matz, a 36-year rail industry veteran, conducts all safety training for BNSF’s car facilities in Kansas City, Mo.; performs safety training for other crafts, such as clerical, maintenance of way, operating and resource protection; and is co-chairman of the System Mechanical Tier II Safety & Health Team and Kansas City Terminal Safety Site Team.
Matz also developed several job safety analyses that BNSF adopted system-wide, one of which is credited with preventing injuries to carmen by addressing stored energy in piston springs.
In addition to Matz's honor, Harold F. Hammond Certificates of Commendation were awarded to: Richard Vickery, NS yardmaster; Ben Knox, CSXT division safety liaison; Orville King, KCS engineer; Gary Devall, IC/CN conductor; James Ewalt, I&M Rail Link signal maintainer; Richard Labbe, Jr., Montana Rail Link electrician; Dennis Overvold, Amtrak mechanical department foreman; Steven East, Metra carman; and Beverly Washington, Union Pacific Railroad motor-truck operator.