From World Cup to Community Events, Rail Safety Public Awareness Campaigns Receive Funding Across 12 U.S. States

What do World Cup games in Kansas City, the Greenville Jazz Festival, and high school sports broadcasts in Illinois have in common? Their location near busy rail corridors provides an opportunity to reach audiences with potentially life-saving safety messages.

With support from FRA and the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh, Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), will be delivering crossing safety and trespass prevention public awareness campaigns in 12 states to encourage safe behaviors around tracks and trains.

About the Campaigns

FRA research shows that trespassing and railroad crossing incidents account for 94 percent of all rail-related deaths and injuries, most of which are preventable. Through grant awards worth $220,200, OLI state organizations will conduct public outreach to deter these incidents.

FRA contributed funding for projects in California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Washington. The Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh funded grants in Connecticut, Minnesota, and Missouri. Each state’s campaign provides messaging to educate audiences on safe behaviors around rail crossings. Targeted communities and tactics vary from state to state, many using digital and traditional media to deliver safety messages along busy rail corridors.

Campaign Examples

A campaign in Maryland will target residents, seniors, and families along commuter rail corridors using station and ticket-machine messaging, multilingual PSAs, social media, in-person safety blitzes, and community presentations.

North Carolina’s campaign involves outreach to unhoused communities located around railroad tracks, working with and educating those who provide homelessness support services. Messaging will be provided at shelters and other services like food pantries.

A campaign in and around Seattle, Washington, will target residents and visitors during World Cup matches at Lumen Field, which is adjacent to busy freight, passenger, and commuter rail lines. The campaign will combine digital media, social media, commuter train advertising, and in-person outreach by volunteers at passenger stations. Similarly, a campaign in Missouri will include a focus on Kansas City, a World Cup host city and one of the nation’s largest rail hubs.

Other campaigns include banner displays on delivery trucks in New Jersey, billboards and rail safety education spots aired on high school sports broadcasts in Illinois, and a sponsored stage at the Greenville Jazz Festival with safety announcements and audience engagement in South Carolina.

Selection Process

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

OLI Executive Director Rachel Maleh said, “Operation Lifesaver state programs are leading the way in delivering rail safety education in communities across the country. Their innovative, community-based outreach helps people understand the importance of making safe choices around tracks and trains and saves lives.”

Learn more at oli.org.