Caltrain Begins Safety Banner Pilot Program

Banners have been installed at three Caltrain stations in a pilot program to literally raise the visibility of the rail safety message.

Eighteen bright red banners with the message "Cross Tracks Safely" superimposed on railroad tracks were installed Thursday at the Hayward Park (San Mateo), San Carlos and Redwood City Caltrain stations.

The banners are intended to provide an attention-getting, general reminder to passengers, pedestrians and motorists of the need to obey the law and use caution around railroad tracks.

Caltrain staff will evaluate the effectiveness of the banners at the first three stations before deciding whether and where to install them at other stations along the rail corridor. With the hardware in place, Caltrain also will be able to install new banners with other safety, operational or marketing messages.

The program is part of Caltrain's ongoing campaign to educate the public about the need to use caution around railroad tracks and trains and in particular to cross tracks only at designated railroad crossings when it is safe and legal to do so.

As part of its rail safety education program, Caltrain staff does presentations to schools and community groups and participates in safety fairs. Caltrain has produced a rail safety video, which has aired extensively on cable television, and displayed rail safety messages on the sides of SamTrans buses.