RAC Honours Leaders in Rail Safety and Environmental Innovation
OTTAWA, Ontario, Dec. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) is honoured to celebrate the recipients of this year’s Safety and Environment Awards, recognizing railways and railroaders who are driving meaningful progress in the way Canada moves people and goods. Their achievements reflect the industry’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and the continued pursuit of safer, more sustainable rail operations across the country.
The RAC Safety and Environment Awards shine a spotlight on the innovative programs, cutting-edge technologies, and proactive practices that strengthen safety culture, protect communities, and enhance environmental performance. These awards highlight the industry’s unwavering commitment to safety as job #1 and to leading Canada’s transition toward a more sustainable future.
“Canada’s railways are built on a foundation of innovation, discipline, and pride in the work we do every day,” said Eric Harvey, President and CEO of the Railway Association of Canada. “This year’s Safety and Environment award recipients demonstrate what is possible when we challenge ourselves to think differently and to lead with purpose. Their initiatives strengthen our industry, protect our communities, and pave the way for a stronger future. I’m proud to congratulate each of them on their outstanding contributions.”
2025 RAC Safety Award Recipients:
Cando Rail & Terminals – Passing Knowledge Initiative
Cando Rail & Terminals launched Passing Knowledge, a virtual, podcast-style safety education program driven by employee surveys, field observations, and audit insights. Designed to strengthen safety culture and engagement, the initiative delivers accessible, story-driven content that reinforces best practices and connects frontline employees through shared learning.
Metrolinx – Red Zone Green Zone (RZ/GZ) Program
Metrolinx is transforming how it plans and delivers work protection through its Red Zone Green Zone Program. The RZ/GZ Program improves control, planning, and communication for construction and maintenance activities within the rail corridor, reducing major risk factors associated with train-to-worker and train-to-equipment interactions.
2025 RAC Environment Award Recipients:
CN – B.C. Spill Drill and Exercise Program: Strengthening Communities
Recognizing that community response teams are often first on site during an incident, CN redesigned its annual spill drills to foreground meaningful engagement with local stakeholders and rightsholders. Piloted in August 2023, the Prince Rupert Spill Drill brought together 75 participants—including local First Nations and six Tsimshian Nations, Transport Canada, provincial ministries, municipal governments, and CN operations and emergency response partners.
Cando Rail & Terminals – Li-Ion 2025: Advancing the Zero-Emission Fleet of the Future
Cando Rail & Terminals is redefining what is possible in Canadian rail operations with its Li-Ion 2025 project—an ambitious initiative to electrify industrial switching using lithium-ion battery technology. By retrofitting a legacy, non-tier-compliant diesel locomotive into a fully electric, zero-emission unit, Cando has engineered a scalable and high-performance solution suited for closed-loop rail systems nationwide.
Metrolinx – Environmental Management System (EMS).
The overhaul of the EMS focused on ensuring alignment to the ISO14001 Standard including a rewrite of the EMS Manual, re-development of the EMS Aspects & Impacts Registry, third party review of the Environmental Legal Registry and development of 11 Environmental Performance Standards.
NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBER AWARD - DecisionWorks
While drone-based data collection is no longer novel on its own, TrackSense is redefining what is possible in railway safety through an entirely new, unprecedented, and innovative approach that fully supports the entire lifecycle of a railway incident detection, engineering crew management and track inspection reporting. TrackSense is a data integration platform. It provides a single dashboard view of an entire railway that consumes data from multiple sources such as track geometry, flood prediction, forest fire fuel detection, remediation and water body analysis, digital twins to structural steel analysis, and concrete integrity analysis.
The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) represents close to 60 freight and passenger railway companies—railways that transport millions of passengers and approximately $380 billion worth of goods across our country each year. RAC also counts a growing number of industrial railways and railway supply companies in its associate membership.
Morgan Swan
Director Public Affairs | Directrice des affaires publiques
+1 (250) 961 5273
mswan@railcan.ca
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