train

Resources for Teachers and Educators

There are plenty of resources for secondary and primary school to teach children train and railway safety. You will find lesson plan activities and guides, presentations, worksheets, quizzes, and videos. There are worksheets that focus on reporting, dangers on tracks, level crossings, and more. TV campaigns also focus on the dangers of level crossings to teach children railway safety. Trains and Safety Resources

Railway and Train Safety Tips for Canadian Children

Materials and Activities

Canada has a well-developed but busy rail network and intercity trains. This means that it is important to teach children how to stay safe in rail stations and trains and near rail tracks. Here are some safety tips, materials, and advice on staying safe on a train and in train stations.

You will find plenty of materials to teach children train safety at home. There are presentations, activity sheets, word search puzzles, posters, and a lot more. Activity sheets feature mazes, crosswords, games, and advice. You may want to show your children posters or pictures where children are doing dangerous things at train stations, when boarding, and on a train.

Safety Tips for Trains

Ask your child to sit down and read or play with you when travelling. Trains can be busy, especially during rush hours and holidays, with many people moving suitcases and luggage, trying to find their seats, and getting off or on. Make sure they stay away from doors as well.

Safety Tips for Train Stations and Platforms

It is important to explain to your child that train stations are places with high foot traffic and can be unsafe and dangerous at times. Ask them to hold your hand and never walk near or at the edge of the platform, especially when a train is approaching. Make sure they are extra careful when getting off or on a train. Explain to your child that it is dangerous to cross the tracks except for approved crossings. Approved crossings come in different types, including footpath crossings, open crossings, and half or full barrier crossings. Footpath crossings are usually found in rural areas. Make sure your children know how they look like and how to safely use them. As it is difficult for children to focus and judge distance and speed, never leave children unattended in train stations. To this, children should never wear buds or headphones while crossing, getting off or on, and in train stations.

Explain to your children that it is dangerous to play with a kite, balloon, or ball near railway tracks and platforms. Keep them occupied and away from railway tracks. Explain that it is dangerous to walk on the tracks and that they are private property. This means that walking is actually trespassing and so is riding a snowmobile or bike and in-line skating. Finally, you may want to explain that it takes a long time for trains to stop because they are fast, heavy, long, and large. You may want to show different signals and signs and explain what they mean.

Workplace Safety in Canada

Health and Safety Regulations

Depending on the territory or province you choose for your business, there are different workplace safety regulations in place. In New Brunswick, for example, you need to have worker’s compensation insurance if you run a business with 3 or more employees. There are regulations on federal employees such as the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations and as outlined in the Canada Labour Code.

In general, you need to learn more about issues such as electrical safety, traffic control, transportation of workers, mobile equipment, etc. Other topics to look into are work platforms and scaffolds, fall protection, rope access, rescue and evacuation, underground workings, and others. There are also regulations regarding radiation and vibration, biological and chemical agents, and confined spaces. Again, there are different health and safety regulations across Canada, and it is important to learn more about relevant standards, guidelines, policies, regulations, and legislation.

Business Structure

There are several options to look into, cooperative, sole proprietorship, territorial or provincial corporation, corporation, and partnership. If you plan to start a small business, then sole proprietorship is one option in light of the fact that it is easy to register. A partnership is also easy to register, and all partners are responsible for the costs.

Business Plan

The next step is to look for reliable sources of financing, and you will need a good business plan to this end. Include a list of workplace safety and preventive measures in your plan as well as procedures for natural disasters, extreme temperatures, threats, and injuries. You should also include sections that cover your sales and marketing management, organization and management, company description, market analysis, executive summary, and so on.

Sources of Funding

The main sources of funding for your workplace safety business include private and government sponsored loans, financing offered by non-for-profits and funds, peer to peer networks, and self-financing. Obviously, self-financing is the cheapest way to finance your start-up, especially if you already run a successful business. This is not always the case, however. Another option is to apply with a big credit union or bank or your local financial institution, especially if you are a regular customer with good credit rating and record. Banks offer a wealth of financial products tailored to the needs of business owners, including lines of credit, business overdrafts, credit cards, micro loans, business insurance, real estate and plenty more. Financing is also available through angel investor networks, resource centres, community loan funds, and under the Canada Small Business Financing Program. Community loan funds, for example, are non-for-profits that offer finan cing of up to $150,000, depending on your requirements, business, etc. The Canada Small Business Financing Program offers affordable financing through different financial institutions across Canada, including CBC, RBC, TD Canada Trust, and hundreds of others. Terms vary depending on the loan purpose. Loans for real property have a term of 15 years while loans for equipment and leasehold improvements have a shorter term of 10 years.

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