By CHRISTINE BOATWRIGHT / Staff Writer

CALERA – Alabama Operation Lifesaver is partnering with the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum to inform residents of train and railroad safety June 8.

According to Nancy Hudson, director of Alabama Operation Lifesaver, Alabama ranks eighth in the nation for vehicle and train collisions and ninth for fatalities in those crashes.

“We’re high on a list we don’t want to be on,” Hudson said.

The Rail Safety Day will run from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum. Hudson said the event will offer safety displays, free train rides, games, a moonwalk and snacks, and admission is free.

Alabama Operation Lifesaver is 40 years old, Hudson said, and international partners have been involved in similar programs for the past six or seven years.

“They have declared an international day for rail safety,” she said.

Alabama Operation Lifesaver also is partnering with the Alabama Department of Transportation, Alabama Department of Public Safety, Alabama Trucking Association and the Alabama Traffic Safety Center.

For more information, contact Hudson at 285-4655 or visit Alol.org or Oli.org.