Ann Arbor Spreads Rail Safety MessageThe Dispatch October 2025

The Ann Arbor Railroad (AA) brought their whole community together to learn about rail safety for Operation Lifesaver’s See Tracks? Think Train!® Week 2025.

The safety week ran September 15-21 this year and the AA hosted three events, bringing community members, first responders, elected officials, and government agencies together to spread the word and educate the residents of Ann Arbor and Dundee, Michigan about rail safety.

“Our team was invited to participate at a kickoff event in Ann Arbor,” said Ian Gray, trainmaster. “From there, our TSIC (Team Safety & Improvement Committee) thought, ‘what more can we do?’ We have a great team and they really stepped up.”

The first event was held adjacent to the University of Michigan’s campus, where the AA moves freight daily. Operation Lifesaver (OLI) volunteers coordinated the event, which included Michigan State Police, Ann Arbor fire and police departments, the university police, Canadian National Railway Police, Michigan Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration, and state representative Jennifer Conlin. About 50 people attended the event and the AA team provided train rides to their bridge over the Huron River.

On Tuesday, Lead Car Repairmen John Weber and Donnie Castro, Chief Mechanical Officer Matt Sprayberry, Locomotive Mechanic Dalton Parent, Equipment Mechanic Chris Hayes, and Prep Crew Leadman Mark Bourbina hosted eight members of the Dundee Fire Department at the depot. This included a classroom session covering general rail safety, hazards to watch for during incidents, and train components. Then, they got hands-on experience with railcars and a locomotive in the yard.

“We showed them all the electrical components and the underbody of the locomotive, things to avoid, and where to cut if they have to do an extraction,” Gray said. “They even practiced an extraction through the cab window. The chief and training officer both came. They want to help us bring in other local departments and to make this part of standard training for new cadets.”

The final event was held in collaboration with OLI volunteers and the Dundee police. An AA locomotive blocked a crossing for about three minutes at a time, while officers, volunteers, and AA team members handed out rail safety pamphlets and OLI gear to drivers.

“About 95% of people were open to it. Someone even got out of their vehicle to take a photo with one of our team members, “Gray said. “Some of the people who live near the tracks came to see what we were doing. We learned we have fans all the way in Colorado. It was great to not just be the noisy neighbor and make connections with the community.”

Gray says the TSIC team is already coming up with ideas for next year. They’re also working to coordinate training, so team members can become OLI volunteers.“They want to get more engaged with the communities we serve,” Gray said. “Rail safety isn’t just this one week. Once they are authorized, we can share this message at events and in schools year-round.”