Metro Magazine

JUN 2014

Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904

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33 JUNE 2014 m ETRO m AGAZINE > In addition to providing full service to rail systems, from train operations to selling tickets to maintaining railcars, equipment and track, Veolia Transpor- tation is also giving the industry more tools for communication and safety, Ron Hartman, CEO, rail, Veolia Transporta- tion, says. Veolia provides an iPhone app, the "Conductor's Companion," for Massa- chusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. (MBCR), which enables conductors to give real-time arrival information and schedule updates to customers. Te app, which has been approved by the Federal Rail Administration (FRA), also helps conductors more directly, by making all the information contained in thousand-page rule books they had to carry with them more easily accessible, Hartman says. Additionally, a version of the app that tracks trains for riders is in the works. Th e ap p h e l p s Ve o l i a s u c c e s s f u l - ly manage transportation on Boston's Massachus etts Bay Transp ortation Authority, which typically r uns 500 trains a day, for special events, such as the Boston Marathon and various sporting events. "We have mastered everything from selling tickets to thousands of people who have never ridden a train before to making sure our people have the right in- formation," Hartman says. Meanwhile, in its most recent safe- ty achievement, Veolia pioneered a pro- gram in partnership with the FRA, de- veloping research to train engineers to prevent distracted driving. Veolia tested engineers on simula- tors with various unusual incidents to see how they responded and determined how to encourage the right behaviors, Hartman explains. "We will provide to all of our employ- ees training programs that give engi- neers cues to recognize when they're los- ing their focus on what they're doing," he says. Veolia will begin training its engineers in the program and then start making it available to the industry. VEOLIA TRANSPORTATION Veolia offers a train conductor app that makes rule book and real-time arrival info easily accessible.

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