Grade crossing safety and pedestrian safety around railroads is something the industry has worked on since its existence.
Mark Davis, Spokesman for Union Pacific, says railroad programs have largely focused on education since 1972 and the inception of Operation Life Saver.
Union Pacific recently announced a new grant program for community railroad safety initiatives.
Davis says after talking with communities for years about railroad safety, it became clear that funds were needed to help communities spread the message.
He says one incident is one too many.
"Last year there were 28 grade crossing collisions, 13 people were injured and 4 people died. Across the river in Iowa there were 43 collisions, 15 injuries and 6 fatalities, so anything we can do to help reduce those numbers is always something we look to do to help do that.”
The UP grants will help fund initiatives including things like school safety days, law enforcement activities and railroad safety advocacy.