Railroad Safety Award To Be Presented to Norfolk Southern’s Dwayne Meadows

Release #09-04—April 14, 2009

Contact NARP, Norfolk Southern contact information at the bottom of this release

Washington D.C., April 14, 2009—The family of Dr. Gary Burch and the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) announced today that Mr. Dwayne Meadows, a Bridge Supervisor for Norfolk Southern and resident of Altoona, Pa., has won the 2009 Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Safety Award.  The award, which honors individuals who have significantly enhanced rail passenger safety, is sponsored by the family of Dr. Burch, who died in a 1991 passenger train derailment in South Carolina.

“Our family is pleased to present this award to Mr. Meadows,” said Bette Burch, widow of Dr. Burch.  “We are gratified that Norfolk Southern has joined the ranks of those submitting nominations, and that its first nomination was this year’s winner.  We give particular consideration to the workers in the field who make safety happen on a day-to-day basis.  Mr. Meadows perfectly fits this description.”

Meadows has worked at Norfolk Southern for more than 31 injury-free years, during which he has supervised numerous groups and garnered a sterling safety record.  The bridge gangs he supervises have gone 19 years-working on high-traffic freight and Amtrak routes—without a Federal Railroad Authority reportable injury.

The past several years have seen Meadows take the improvement of Amtrak’s station platforms as a personal mission.  According to the nomination submitted by Norfolk Southern Corporation Vice-President C.J. Wehrmeister, “He replaced plywood with sturdier materials that reduce ice-buildup in all the platforms between Harrisburg and Latrobe; at Greensburg he removed the platform that allowed passengers to cross the tracks rather than using a pedestrian tunnel; and he has consistently displayed a willingness to respond to problems at stations outside of his district; all to ensure the safety of passengers.

“Meadows has displayed excellent judgment and tenacity in all of his duties, which include the monitoring of operations, maintaining and improving drainage, replacing and cleaning culverts, repairing handrails and walkways on bridges, inspecting bridges, and maintaining signage.”

“Safety doesn’t just happen” said Meadows, who was also chairman of his local safety committee.  “You have to work hard at it every day and not let up.”

The Burch family noted other noteworthy nominees from this year’s submissions:

• Linwood Harris, an Amtrak Road Foreman of Engines and a member of the management advisory team for the Raleigh Safety Committee, has been an Amtrak employee of over 25 years, and has overseen a crew base that has gone personal injury free for 2,992 days.
• Donald Bogen, Foreman of Environmental Services for New Jersey Transit, for designing and maintaining a system to prevent soil contamination.
• Thomas Lang, Director of Rail Infrastructure Construction of New Jersey Transit, for the completion of the Automatic Train Control installation on NJT’s commuter rail system.

The Burch family established the $1,000 award in 1994 and has sponsored it ever since.  A list of previous winners can be found here on our website.

About NARP

NARP is the only national organization speaking for the users of passenger trains and rail transit. We have worked since 1967 to expand the quality and quantity of passenger rail in the U.S. Our mission is to work towards a modern, customer-focused national passenger train network that provides a travel choice Americans want. Our work is supported by over 22,000 individual members.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada, serving every major container port in the eastern United States and providing superior connections to western rail carriers. NS operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is North America’s largest rail carrier of metals and automotive products.

NS Contact: Rudy Husband, Director Public Relations
2260 Butler Pike, Suite 400
Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462
610-567-3377, E-mail