2022 Whistle Stop Tour | Operation Lifesaver Nebraska

WHISTLE STOP TOUR GRANT

WASHINGTON, DC, March 30, 2022 – Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), announced it will award an Innovative Rail Safety Grant to Nebraska Operation Lifesaver (Nebraska OL). The grant will fund a Whistle-Stop Tour in September 2022 across 20 counties throughout the state with the highest rail-related fatalities and injuries over the last five years. In conjunction with the Whistle-Stop Tour, billboards, newspaper articles, and public service announcements (PSAs) will be distributed throughout the state.

“The Nebraska OL Whistle-Stop Tour takes an innovative approach to raising public awareness of the need to make safe choices at railroad crossings and along rights-of-way, encouraging citizens to volunteer for Operation Lifesaver and deepening local rail safety partnerships,” said OLI Executive Director Rachel Maleh. “We are proud to partner again with the FRA on this grant, which supports creative ways to share the rail safety message,” she stated.

“We look forward to connecting with Nebraskans, inviting first responders to our railroad safety team and recruiting volunteers to help share this important safety message in communities across the state,” said Nebraska Operation Lifesaver State Coordinator Debra Ashworth,

The Nebraska OL Whistle-Stop Tour is timed to coincide with Rail Safety Week, which this year will be held Sept. 19-25, 2022, throughout North America. In each targeted county, Operation Lifesaver will provide free rail safety presentations to schools, businesses, professional drivers and other audiences identified through incident data, meet with local community leaders and public safety organizations and display their mobile training trailer. Media outreach and social media messaging in each location will emphasize the importance of reducing railroad crossing and trespass incidents in the 20 targeted counties and throughout the state.