The Buckingham Branch Railroad (BBRR) announced in a press release that on Tuesday, May 15, BBRR reached a safety milestone: One year without an FRA-reportable injury. According to the release, “70 employees accomplished 150,000 man-hours, driven by a shared dedication to keep each other safe. Spirited commitment to the BBRR Safety Culture by each and every employee made this happen.”

“Our safety culture is built on a foundation of carefully evaluated and interpreted operational and safety rules. We continuously look for ways to improve the rules while vigorously and persistently conducting rules training. Rules are pointless if they’re not clear and we don’t clearly understand them. Fervent training is critical. Keeping our training fresh and engaging is a constant challenge. We meet this challenge by involving as many people as possible in this process. We stress the importance of each employee taking active ownership of their training,” the release cited.

The release further stated, “BBRR has a robust operational rules testing program which serves to promote, encourage and teach safe acts. In addition to our O-Testing Program, we enforce the rules, as a team, in the field, watching out for each other, keeping ourselves and our co-workers safe. We empower any and all of our employees to stop a job if they feel it is unsafe for any reason.” Bill Mitchem, superintendent of transportation, said the reason BBRR reached the One-Year milestone can be defined with one word, “Empowerment.”

“Safety has to be our top priority simply because we care about our fellow employees, our customers and the public,” the release cited.

CEO, Mark Bryant stated, “The BB reached this important goal by making safety our top priority, dedicating the necessary resources to it, and keeping the importance of working safely in front of our people day after day after day.”

BBRR is a Shortline Railroad operating in Virginia.