SPECIAL NORFOLK SOUTHERN TRAIN WILL AID HAZARDOUS MATERIAL TRAINING Decatur, IL - A special Norfolk Southern Corp. train will visit Decatur on Monday as part of a five-city, whistle-stop tour to increase public awareness of how railroads and the chemical industry work together to safely ship hazardous materials. The visit is part of an effort to promote Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response, a nationwide program to increase community understanding of the transportation of hazardous materials and the importance of emergency planning. Between 250 and 400 emergency responders - police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel - are expected to attend free training sessions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday in Norfolk Southern's Decatur rail yards. "We want the public to come, too," said Phil Anello, Macon County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency coordinator and chairman of the local emergency planning committee, during a news conference Friday in the rail yards. "We want to make sure the public is aware of the types of hazardous materials and how they can protect themselves." "The public can go to the classes if they think it would be beneficial to them," said Tom Davis, Norfolk Southern assistant manager for hazardous materials. "Anyone can come. We have a homeschool group coming." The tour stops in Decatur; St. Louis, MO; Princeton, IN; Louisville, KY; and Danville, KY, were publicized to emergency responders in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri, Davis said. The training covers use of protective equipment, computer programs, tank car and tank truck problems, he said. A number of safety equipment vendors will be on hand to show their wares, he said. "The most important part is the hands-on training where they can physically touch the tank cars and see the things we're talking about," Davis said. Decatur Fire Chief Les Albert said local firefighters will be training Monday. "This shows us what the railroad has that we can use, and we can show them what we have that they can use," Albert said. Decatur Deputy Police Chief David Slade said some police officers also will participate in the training sessions, while others will provide site security and traffic control. Davis said the Decatur rail yard is Norfolk Southern's largest in Illinois. "We move a lot of traffic through here, a lot of hazardous materials traffic," Davis said. "But we're not the only railroad in the county." Norfolk Southern has between 50 and 60 trains a day moving through Decatur, and Canadian National, Illinois Central and CSX railroads have additional trains, Davis said. Just about everything that is permitted to be shipped by rail passes through the Decatur yards at some time or other, Davis said. Among those items are denatured alcohol, liquefied petroleum gas, anhydrous ammonia and various other chemicals and acids, he said.
