The Wheatland Express Safety Train will bring a unique educational experience to Saskatchewan. As of Wednesday, May 9, children and the general public will have a hands-on opportunity to ride and explore a train designed for rail safety education.
In April 2017, Great Sandhills Railway received a two-year grant from Transport Canada to develop and operate a Safety Train. Staff coordinate with schools, community groups, and other stakeholders throughout Saskatchewan to bring various groups to the Safety Train.
The Safety Train addresses multiple rail safety components. It will focus on high incident and trespassing areas throughout the province while also introducing a key education component, the LocoSim™. This tool is a multi-functional virtual simulator that creates a multitude of real-life scenarios using detailed models of train and track dynamics. Other technologies are under development to enhance and improve the education experience.
Saskatchewan has 8,722 km of track with 5005 railway crossings, accounting for 21 per cent of all Canadian crossings, the second highest number in Canada. According to the Transportation Safety Board, federally regulated railways in Saskatchewan saw a year-over-year increase in crossing incidents in 2017, with Saskatchewan representing 17 per cent of these incidents. As of January 2018, Saskatchewan has had three crossing incidents, one with serious injuries.
“This is a new and exciting way to promote a very important safety message,” said Perry Pellerin, CEO of Great Sandhills Railway Ltd and President of the Western Canadian Shortline Railway Association, “We have to keep developing new ways to educate the public about railway safety.”
“Canada maintains one of the safest rail transportation systems in the world as a result of shared efforts between numerous partners including railway companies, road authorities and communities,” said the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport. “Projects like the Safety Train are a great example of how improving education and awareness through innovative methods makes a difference and saves lives.”
Being on a train gives participants a better appreciation of the size and power of the equipment, encouraging them to take rail safety more seriously. The safety train uses its lovable safety mascot, ‘Spike’ the safety dog, to get children excited about railway safety and to promote what they learn and experience. Target groups include not only youth groups but the general public, specifically those who reside in areas where railway companies have operations, and there is a history of high trespassing and crossing incidents.
The Safety Train program is supported by: The Government of Canada, Rail Simulations Inc., Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway.
