After what he called one of the worst winters in his 42 year of service, General Manager of Transportation Mike Paras thanks everyone who worked to keep the Belt Railway of Chicago up and running.

“We endured a tough year, and the one reason we made it through was because of the employees here,” he said.

BRC employees have had only one reportable injury so far this year, which gives the company a frequency severity index (FSI) of .67. BRC prides itself in being a railway that people can trust, according to Paras, and that is what keeps the customers coming back.

“We give our customers and owners confidence that we are the right railroad,” he said. “We get the job done safely, but also efficiently and quickly.”

According to Paras, cars are departing in a timely basis and operations are running smoothly. In comparison to 2013, the FSI is lower and there is more traffic.

In May 2014, an average of 2,617 inbound receipts came into BRC per day. Close to 3,100 cars a day are humped at BRC.

“Everything continues to move safely,” Paras said. “There is safe production, and we’re moving consumers’ business the way they want it to be handled. Our business is up, and they expect us to be good, and we are.”

BRC is hiring additional employees to handle the extra haul.