New York & Atlantic Railway Earns Safety And Marketing Awards

GLENDALE, N.Y., May 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- By restoring freight train service just two days after Hurricane Sandy and posting the most improved employee safety record, New York & Atlantic Railway (www.anacostia.com/nya/nya.html) has earned both marketing and safety awards from the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.

The NY&A was the first railroad in the New York metro area to restore service after Sandy struck Long Island, Monday, October 29. "Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our employees and remarkable support from the Long Island Rail Road, we were able to inspect tracks the next day and resume limited service to our customers just two days later," said Paul Victor, NY&A's president.

NY&A delivered cars of propane, food and beer to amazed Long Island customers. "Normally the first train on the line was ours," Victor added. "There were no delays because there were no passenger trains anywhere."

LIRR granted waivers allowing the NY&A to bring in heavier shipments of building products and clearing outbound shipments of debris.

"We received kudos from politicians and customers alike," said Victor.

Most improved safety record

New York & Atlantic won the "Most Improved Safety Record Award" for its demonstrated progress over a three-year period, as verified by the Federal Railroad Administration.

"This is a huge tribute to the hard work by our employees and a significant achievement among the more than 500 smaller U.S. railroads," said Victor. "This safety record helps show that the New York & Atlantic is a safer place to work."

To meet ASLRRA's award criteria, NY&A implemented safety-related programs, processes and procedures along with devoting personnel, money and other resources to improve safety.

The awards were presented April 30 at ASLRRA's Centennial Convention in Atlanta.

The New York & Atlantic Railway serves more than 85 businesses along the MTA Long Island Rail Road system, sharing track with the densest passenger system in the United States. NYA moves more than 20,000 carloads annually, which improves air quality and reduces congestion by taking more than 160,000 trucks off local highways. 

The New York & Atlantic is an affiliate of Anacostia Rail Holdings, Inc. (www.anacostia.com), which has railroads operating in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York and Texas.

SOURCE New York & Atlantic Railway