L.B. Foster Pueblo Opens Doors to Delegates from 20 Countries at ILCAD ‘22
- Jul 15, 2022
- Rail
In June, L.B. Foster opened its doors to more than 80 representatives from the global rail industry at our Pueblo, CO, plant outside of Denver. Delegates were attendees of the 14th International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD). The conference spanned three days, with the finale held at L.B. Foster’s plant on June 10th, followed by a dinner hosted by L.B. Foster.
ILCAD is a worldwide initiative to improve awareness of level crossing safety and spearheaded by the UIC, the worldwide professional association representing the railway sector and promoting rail transport. The event itself was co-organized by UIC, Association of American Railroads (AAR), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Operation Lifesaver inc. (OLI).
The Pueblo facility where we manufacture insulated rail joints was transformed to showcase Grade Crossing Technology and other Total Track Monitoring products that improve rail safety. A series of demonstration stations were created around the Pueblo plant, including anti-trespass panels, Wheel Impact Load Detection (WILD) Mk-IV, and an immersive Rockfall Monitoring experience.
“According to the US Department of Transportation, there are about 5,800 train-car crashes each year in the United States, most of which occur at railroad crossings. These accidents cause 600 deaths and injure about 2,300 people,” said Michael O’Connell, Technology Sales, Product & Business Development Manager. “ILCAD provided a great opportunity to showcase our state-of-the-art grade crossing obstacle detection system which uses smart laser technology and CCTV to alert railroad operators to potential hazards at crossings.”
Patrick Tully, Senior Director, Rail Sales at L.B. Foster, added, “I am grateful to our team who made the trek from different parts of the country to execute this two-years in the making unique event in Pueblo. We were able to take full advantage of this event to establish strong partnerships with key industry players and are excited to build on the momentum of this success.”
The 14th ILCAD campaign went live on June 9 at The Cable Center Denver (Colorado), preceded by a special session on Trespass and Suicide Prevention on June 8 at the Colorado Railroad Museum. On June 10, delegates were also welcomed to a technical visit at the Security and Emergency Response Training Center (formerly TCCI) in Pueblo.
