PBR Railroad Wins National Safety Award.
For Immediate Release
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 12, 2000 -- For the third consecutive year, Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Patapsco & Back Rivers Railroad (P&BR;) has received a national award from the E.H. Harriman Memorial Awards Institute for exceptional rail safety performance serving, primarily, the steelmaker's Sparrows Point, Md., Division.
In ceremonies today, the P&BR; was presented the Bronze Award by the Harriman Institute, signifying the railroad's attainment as the third safest short-line railroad in the United States. Last year, the railroad received the Silver Harriman Award as the second safest short-line railroad in the nation. In 1998, the P&BR; received the Bronze Harriman Award.
The presentation of the Bronze Award is the 19th time a Bethlehem Steel subsidiary railroad has won a Harriman Award in the past 32 years.
The P&BR;, one of nine subsidiary railroads owned by Bethlehem Steel, won in the switching and terminal group for its service to more than a dozen industrial customers located on its lines.
The P&BR; handles a diverse range of commodities, such as finished iron and steel products, coal, coke, oil, plywood and other materials. The P&BR; serves the Port of Sparrows Point and offers rail-to-truck transload facilities for use by customers of two Class I railroads -- Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation. In addition, the P&BR; prepares and delivers trains to Bay View Yard in Baltimore.
"Winning the Harriman Award is a product of our continued commitment to the safety process. The participation by our employees in our safety program has been the primary factor in keeping each of us safe throughout the workday," said Michael J. King, superintendent of the P&BR;, who accepted the award with J. Michael Zaia, president of Bethlehem Steel's subsidiary railroads.
The Harriman Awards, which are based on the absence of accidents and the low incidence of injuries, were established in 1913 by Mary Harriman in memory of her husband, Edward Henry Harriman, a railroad financier and administrator who reorganized and consolidated railroads in the western United States. He is best remembered for his presidency of Union Pacific Railroad, which he developed into one of the nation's largest transportation companies.