(Albuquerque, NM – July 31, 2009) – Engineers, conductors and ticket clerks on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express are beginning the first of four weekends of classes on how to administer defibrillator procedures to passengers in an emergency situation aboard the train. The training comes in advance of defibrillators that will soon be installed on the cab cars of every Rail Runner train set.

 “When you consider the fact that a person can be on the train anywhere from 15-minutes to two-hours, it makes sense to have this kind of equipment in the event of a medical emergency”, says Lawrence Rael, Executive Director for the Mid-Region Council of Governments. “We look at this as a continued effort to provide safe transportation”.

The types of defibrillators that will go on each Rail Runner train are called “AED’s” or Automated External Defibrillators. They are portable units that provide the same action as those found in hospitals and medical facilities. Defibrillators deliver an electrical current through the chest to the heart to correct a critically irregular and life-threatening heartbeat.

New Mexico, along with all other states, has passed legislation directly supporting the use of AED’s in large venues where people often gather: casinos, shopping malls, and golf courses – even passenger aircraft. Currently, Amtrak has AED’s on their long distance train sets.

Albuquerque-based EMS Aspects is the company that is installing the AED’s on Rail Runner trains, as well as providing the training for Rail Runner staff. The devices should be on trains by the end of August.

Contacts: 

• Augusta Meyers, MRCOG Communications Mgr. 505-239-8612, ameyers@mrcog-nm.gov

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