ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern announced a new partnership with RapidSOS to enhance critical information gathering in the event of a rail-related emergency on the Class I railroad. In a Sept. 20, 2023 news release, RapidSOS is described as the world’s first intelligent safety platform that can “securely link over 500 million devices, apps, and sensors to more than 15,000 911 and field responder agencies.”
“Norfolk Southern is committed to being an industry leader in safety,” said John Fleps, vice president of safety for NS. “Through our partnership with RapidSOS, 911 call centers and first responder agencies throughout our 22-state network will have faster access to the information they need to safeguard their response, save lives, and protect the communities in which we operate.”
According to the release, the enhanced critical information will be available by the railroad to 911 centers and field responders as early as 2024, and will include the following:
- Train cargo contents with details by train car.
- Hazardous materials information and emergency response standards and best practices.
- Ability to digitally escalate for mutual aid to surrounding agencies.
- Online learning, support, and training at no cost to first responders.
Prior tactics involved manually searching online databases and verbally relaying critical information by emergency dispatchers.
