SAN ANGELO, Texas — The Railway Museum of San Angelo is participating in Rail Safety Week to raise awareness of rail safety precautions. Many of the events this year will be held online. Rail Safety Week begins Monday, Sept. 20 and will run until the following Sunday.
The schedule for the week is as follows:
- Monday, Sept. 20 - #STOPTrackTragedies media campaign
- Tuesday, Sept. 21 - Operation Clear Track
- Wednesday, Sept. 22 - Crossing Safety
- Thursday, Sept. 23 - Transit Safety Thursday and Professional Driver Safety
- Saturday, Sept. 25 - Trespass Prevention
- Sunday, Sept. 25 - No Photo/Video/Selfie is Worth the Risk
The museum will be releasing information on its social media page each day starting Sept. 20.
According to the Texas Railroad Commission, in 2020 there were 11 deaths and 67 injuries related to rail crossing accidents. There were also 31 deaths and 60 injuries related to pedestrians trespassing on tracks. Railway Museum of San Angelo Vice President Monica Ramos says it is important to be aware of your surroundings even when trying to take a nice photo.
"It's never safe to stand in the middle of a railroad track. We do have a beautiful railroad display of train stock, and we do understand that our visitors do enjoy taking photos with the train stock, and that is totally fine. But we want to make sure that everyone knows to please take extra precaution before they cross the railroad tracks," Ramos said.
The Railway Museum of San Angelo, 703 S. Chadbourne St., is open from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturdays.
For more information, go to sanangelorailway.org.