A. Lee Graham Reporter BNSF Railway Co. of Fort Worth has received the National Achievement Award for enhancing community safety. Given by Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response (TRANSCAER). The award recognizes companies for outstanding efforts to ensure the safe transportation of hazardous products. “The safety of our employees and the communities in which we operate are a top priority for BNSF,” said John Lovenburg, BNSF vice president, environmental, said in a news release about the award. The newly announced honor marks the 13th time BNSF has been given the recognition since 1998. BNSF’s first responder-training has helped train more than 60,000 emergency responders in its 32,500-mile, 28-state network. TRANSCAER member companies train local emergency responders in preparing for and responding to hazardous materials transportation incidents. In 2012 BNSF conducted 185 hazardous material training sessions reaching 4,473 emergency responders. “We are pleased that our continued commitment to work closely with emergency responders to ensure safe and efficient responses to transportation incidents has been acknowledged once again by TRANSCAER,” Lovenburg said. A TRANSCAER official lauded the Fort Worth company. “As a National Achievement recipient, BNSF Railway has shown a dedication to safety that makes them a leader not only within their industry but also to their communities and customers,” said Donna Lepik, staff executive for TRANSCAER. TRANSCAER is a voluntary national outreach effort focusing on assisting communities in preparing for and responding to possible hazardous material transportation incidents. Members include volunteer representatives from the chemical manufacturing, transportation, distribution, and emergency response industries, as well as the government. BNSF Railway is a North American freight transportation company operating on 32,500 route miles of track in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. More information is available at www.bnsf.com. lgraham@bizpress.net