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The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) recently named four winners of its 2012 Safety Awards, which recognize rail industry contributions to safe transportation that encourage the adoption of better working and operating practices, and enhance public awareness of safe rail practices.

The RAC honored CN for developing a process to measure its safety culture in a manner aligned with the definition determined by a Railway Safety Act review working group comprising representatives from Transport Canada, the rail industry, unions and a federal regulator. The measurement process provides both objective and subjective measurements of the safety culture at CN, which was the first North America railroad to measure safety culture, RAC officials said in a prepared statement.

The association also recognized VIA Rail Canada Inc. for holding a conference in Kingston, Ontario, on high-risk grade crossing safety issues. The event helped raise crossing safety awareness and promote prevention, RAC officials said.

In addition, the association presented an award to Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) for developing a railway response guide covering all emergency services in the Montreal metropolitan region. The guide helps familiarize users with the technical issues inherent in all railway equipment, the procedures to be followed, the technical characteristics of rail transportation, and the manner in which work is organized at AMT and its partners, RAC officials said.

The fourth award winner is the Quebec, North Shore and Labrador Railway (QNSL), which began using a portable, ultrasound device to detect air leaks during train inspections, especially leaks caused by harsh weather. The device enables minor repairs to be made, greatly reducing the total leak on a train and increasing reliability during operation, RAC officials said.