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Capital Metro partners with Austin and Leander Independent School Districts to teach rail safety

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Capital Metro partners with Austin and Leander Independent School Districts to teach rail safety

Schools launch rail safety poster contest

January 21, 2009

NEWS FACTS

  • As part of Capital Metro's and its community partners' ongoing rail safety outreach leading up to the debut of MetroRail, Capital Metro, Austin ISD and Leander ISD have launched a rail safety poster contest. Students at twenty school campuses that are located within ½ mile of the MetroRail tracks are eligible to enter the contest by submitting a poster design that encourages rail safety.
  • One first place prize and one second place prize will be awarded to grades 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12. First place prizes are laptop computers donated by Dell, Inc. Second place prizes are running shoes donated by RunTex.
  • Additionally, three grand prize posters will be chosen, one each representing the elementary, middle and high school level campuses. Grand prize-winning posters will be reproduced and distributed to all AISD and LISD schools, and also to the Round Rock ISD and Pflugerville ISD schools located within two miles of the tracks. As supplies allow, the posters will also be sent to local public libraries and private schools within two miles of the tracks.
  • The contest builds upon community outreach that has been ongoing for almost two years, including school presentations to more than 33,000 students, collaborations with both the Girl Scouts of Central Texas and the Boy Scouts of America Capitol Area Council, a locally-produced PSA that is heard on every AISD school bus, and creation of a nationally-recognized rail safety Web site, stayoffthetracks.com. Capital Metro and a community-based volunteer coalition called GROW (Grassroots Rail Outreach Working group) have worked together to make rail safety a priority.
  • The timing of the contest coincides with an important milestone of Capital MetroRail: the protracted "dress rehearsal" of the system, when MetroRail trains will be operating during morning and afternoon rush hours throughout the 32-mile line, to test every aspect of the system, fine-tune the schedule, and train the MetroRail engineers. This testing period begins Feb. 12, and continues through March until the opening of the line.
  • Capital MetroRail trains are faster and quieter than traditional freight trains.

MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS
GROW¿s Rail Safety Web Site www.stayoffthetracks.com

QUOTES

  • "It's been inspiring to see so many community groups, government entities and businesses get involved to help spread the message of rail safety. Our GROW partners have helped Capital Metro reach many more people than we could have on our own. We're less than three months away from the opening of MetroRail, and we've done a good job spreading the safety message, but we're not done yet! It's too important."

    -- Alissa Schram, Rail Safety Liaison, Capital Metro

ABOUT CAPITAL METRO
Capital Metro's mission is to provide quality public transportation choices for our community that meet the needs of our growing region. With the highest per capita ridership in Texas, Capital Metro serves more than 3,000 bus stops with metro, flyer and express routes, downtown `Dillo circulator routes and UT Shuttle service. Capital Metro also provides MetroAccess service for passengers with disabilities, van and carpool coordination, and freight rail service.

Capital MetroRail is a new passenger rail system expected to open March 30, 2009 between the City of Leander and the Convention Center in Downtown Austin. MetroRail is part of the All Systems Go Long-Range Transit Plan that includes expanded local and express bus service, MetroRapid bus service, and new and improved park and ride lots. For more information, including an online trip planner and a commute cost calculator, visit www.capmetro.org or call (512) 474- 1200.

SAFETY TIP OF THE DAY
Stay off the tracks: Train tracks and the surrounding right-of-way are private property. Walking on or near the tracks is illegal and dangerous. For more information on rail safety, visit www.allsystemsgo.capmetro.org/capital-metrorailsafety.shtml.


line seperatorCapital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
2910 East 5th Street | Austin, Texas 78702 | (512) 389-7400
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