Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (District of Columbia) won the prestigious Rail Transit Team Achievement Award at the 19th annual American Public Transportation Association (APTA) International Rail Rodeo, which was held in conjunction with the 2011 APTA Rail Conference in Boston on June 11.  The Rail Transit Team Achievement Award is given to the system with the highest rail operator and maintainer team combined score. The winning team members were operators Charlie Richardson and Danielle Glass and maintainers Adrian Tase, Roland Lamar, and Jake Scout.

Public transportation systems from across North America competed for this honor, recognizing the men and women who keep rail systems safe and efficient.

"Congratulations to the 2011 International Rail Rodeo winners!  They are models of excellence as they showcased professionalism and top-notch skills during the competition," said APTA President William Millar.  "Their public transit systems and the communities they serve should be very proud that they have the best rail operators in North America."

The Operators Competition measures professional skills including: train operation; knowledge of safety regulations; train equipment; and track right-of-way rules and procedures.  First place in the Operators Competition was won by Steve Portney of Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.  Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (District of Columbia) operators, Charlie Richardson and Danielle Glass, came in second place.  The team of John Hall and Michael Shepard from Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (Philadelphia) took third place honors.

The Maintainers Competition judges the ability to troubleshoot maintenance problems. The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (Oakland, CA) earned first place with the maintainer team of Carl Ambrose, Ted Christian, and Dan Parris.  Denver's Regional Transportation District won second place with the team of Randall Lovegrove and George Sweeney.  The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's  maintainer team of  Adrian Tase, Roland Lamar, and Jake Scout won third place.

The APTA International Rail Rodeo Competition is designed to encourage excellence and professionalism in rail transit operations.  The competition was held on June 11 at the Orient Heights Maintenance Facility in Boston, MA.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of 1,500 public and private member organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed passenger rail.  This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products.  More than 90 percent of the people using public transportation in the United States and Canada ride APTA member systems.