Safety is critically important to the short line and regional railroad industry and ASLRRA’s Annual Safety Awards Program recognizes the contributions and achievements of short line railroads by awarding President’s Safety Awards. In an effort to recognize and bring greater visibility to our safest railroads, ASLRRA’s President's Awards are presented at the Regional Meetings.
ASLRRA's prestigious President’s Safety Awards recognize the outstanding safety records of railroads that have achieved either a 0.0 accident frequency rate, or the best safety rate as measured by the lowest accident frequency rate per person-hour of operation below the industry average. The President’s Safety Award winners in each region are selected based on the previous year’s performance, according to FRA accident / incident reporting data. This year’s award winners were determined based on 2024 FRA data.
| More than 500,000 Person Hours Worked |
Belt Railway Company of Chicago |
| 250,000-500,000 Person Hours Worked |
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis |
| 150,000 to 250,000 Person Hours Worked |
South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad |
| 50,000 to 150,000 Person Hours Worked |
Burlington Junction Railway |
| Less than 50,000 Person Hours Worked |
Arkansas-Oklahoma Railroad, Inc. |
| More than 500,000 Person Hours Worked |
Consolidated Rail Corporation |
| 250,000 to 500,000 Person Hours Worked |
Union Railroad Company, LLC |
| 150,000-250,000 Person Hours Worked |
Indiana & Ohio Railway Company |
| 50,000 to 150,000 Person Hours Worked |
SMS Rail Service Inc. |
| Less than 50,000 Person Hours Worked |
Rochester & Southern Railroad, Inc. |
| More than 500,000 Person Hours Worked |
N/A |
| 250,000-500,000 Person Hours Worked |
Portland & Western Railroad |
| 150,000 to 250,000 Person Hours Worked |
Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad, LC |
| 50,000-150,000 Person Hours Worked |
Great Northwest Railroad |
| Less than 50,000 Person Hours Worked |
Southwestern Railroad, Inc. |
| More than 500,000 Person Hours Worked |
Conrad Yelvington Distributors, Inc. |
| 250,000-500,000 Person Hours Worked |
Paducah & Louisville Railway, Inc. |
| 150,000 to 250,000 Person Hours Worked |
Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway |
| 50,000 to 150,000 Person Hours Worked |
Aberdeen, Carolina & Western Rwy. Co. |
| Less than 50,000 Person Hours Worked |
Georgia Southwestern Railroad |
“ ‘Safety First’ is the oft-repeated refrain on our nation’s railroads, and it rings true for short lines. Nothing is as important as bringing home every employee safely every day,” said Chuck Baker, President of ASLRRA.
“Our Jake Safety Award program is one way we honor and recognize short line railroads that achieve exemplary safety records. Based on FRA-reported performance in 2024, a record 390 of our member short lines have achieved better than industry average injury frequency rate per 200,000 person-hours worked, and 357 (also a record!) of those short lines reported a perfect zero reportable injuries.
These numbers are impressive measurements of the industry’s safety improvement, reflecting short lines that live the ‘Safety First’ value each day and the industry’s commitment to investing in infrastructure to improve safety.”
