CSX Transportation Employee Wins Association of American Railroads’ John H. Chafee Award

Mike O’Malley is CSXT’s Sixth Winner of the Industry’s Top Environmental Honor

Jacksonville, Fla. – April 21, 2009 – Mike O’Malley, assistant chief engineer of facilities for CSX Transportation, has been named this year’s winner of the John H. Chafee Environmental Award, which was presented today by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The sixth CSXT employee to receive the industry’s top environmental award, O’Malley was selected for his leadership on green policies.

“Mike has been instrumental to the success of a number of industry-leading environmental issues," said Ed Hamberger, President and CEO of the Association of American Railroads. “Because of his leadership, we are pleased to recognize him today.”

Highlights of O’Malley’s nomination include energy efficient improvements that have lowered CSXT’s carbon footprint and resulted in over $9.3 million in net energy cost savings over the past 5 years. O’Malley has introduced facility consolidations that limit the number of buildings needed to operate successfully while also improving operation efficiency, incorporated solar-powered water heaters and marine navigational lighting which ensure the safety of operations while eliminating green house gas emissions from traditional power generation operations, and improved recycling practices that recover materials that would have previously been sent to a landfill.

The AAR’s John H. Chafee Environmental Award recognizes an individual railroad employee who has demonstrated outstanding environmental performance in the area of environmental awareness and responsibility.

“We are thrilled that the Association of American Railroads has recognized Mike O’Malley for his contributions to the industry and the environment,” said Carl Gerhardstein, director of environmental systems, CSXT. “This award demonstrates both Mike’s initiative and the dedication of CSXT overall to finding and implementing environmentally sound practices across our network.”

Over the past nine years, six CSX employees have been awarded the John H. Chafee Environmental Award for their achievements:
-- Donald L. Robey was recognized for his work designing, piloting and implementing a horsepower reduction program that reduces fuel consumption and locomotive emissions.
-- Russell V. Glidden was honored for his management of a wastewater treatment facility that allowed for a storm water pond to be turned into a wildlife sanctuary.
-- Robert D. Toms was recognized for his dedication to the CSXT Hazmat Sentinel Program and environmental emergency training for local first-response teams.
-- Ted Stewart was acknowledged for his role on the team that designed and implemented the Auxiliary Power Unit, a device that conserves fuel and reduces emissions.
-- Mike Bethge was recognized for his work developing hazardous materials planning and response practices.

CSX Transportation Inc. is a principal operating company of CSX Corporation. CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans 21,000 miles with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company's web site, www.csx.com.

Toni Morrison in Ohio to mark Underground Railroad site

Oberlin College says Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison will be in the northeast Ohio town to commemorate those who traveled the Underground Railroad.
Morrison will dedicate a bench Thursday near the college as part of her ``A Bench by the Road Project.'' The bench is one of 10 planned around the country to mark places important to African-American history.
Morrison picked Oberlin because the college was a stop on the railroad, a series of safe houses where pre-Civil War abolitionists and others hid fleeing slaves from bounty hunters.
Morrison also picked Oberlin because of its proximity to Lorain, where she set her first novel, ``The Bluest Eye.'' The author, who was born in Lorain, will also speak to Oberlin students Thursday evening.

Railroad wants to close three Madison street crossings

For the second time in four years, the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad has asked state officials for permission to close three crossings on Madison’s east Isthmus — one of which could affect the operation of the proposed central park.

The railroad is looking to close the Livingston, Brearly and Blount street crossings because of concerns over how Madison’s population growth will affect safety at the sites.

“Through the near east isthmus in Downtown Madison, our concerns for public safety are growing as we observe trespassing and vehicle violations at the numerous rail crossings, on a daily basis,” railroad president and CEO William E. Gardner writes in an April 3 letter to Roger Breske, the state Commissioner of Railroads.

Closing the crossings would create two dead ends on either side of the tracks at each crossing.

Breske’s office received the letter six days before a city task force unveiled a revamped design for the long-planned central park, proposed for seven acres roughly bordered by Brearly, Wilson and Baldwin streets and a set of railroad tracks to the northwest.

Bill Barker, chairman of the Central Park Design and Implementation Task Force, said “at one level, closing Brearly would be good for the park” but “if it’s closed to pedestrians, that’s going to be a major negative.”

The latest design for the park now shows a performance area and lawn on Brearly north of the railroad tracks and an urban garden area on Brearly south of the tracks. Closing the street’s crossing would hamper access from one to the other.

A spokesman with the railroad did not return a phone message Friday, but Doug Wood, legal counsel with the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads, said it appears the railroad is asking that all access — by vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians — across its tracks be eliminated.

Alderwoman Marsha Rummel, whose 6th District includes the crossings, said she understands the railroad’s concerns about safety, “but as a city and a neighborhood, we’re also concerned about connectivity.”

“It’s just kind of hard to wall off an area because there’s a railroad,” she said.

A hearing on the petition where the commission will take testimony from the public and other interested parties has not been set yet, Wood said, and would likely not happen for several months.

In 2005, Wisconsin and Southern petitioned the commissioner to close the Brearly Street crossing and two other east Isthmus crossings on Paterson and Ingersoll streets, but later withdrew the request as it worked with the city to try to establish quiet zones at crossings, Wood said. Quiet zones are areas where trains typically don’t blow their whistles.

Meanwhile, Barker said the city plans to ask the OCR this spring for permission for a new pedestrian crossing over the tracks on Few Street that would serve as the main entrance to the proposed park.