The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) represents the nation’s over 600 Class II and Class III railroads and hundreds of railroad industry suppliers. Class II and Class III railroads, commonly referred to as short line railroads, are the “first-mile, last-mile” of the freight rail network. Short lines are small businesses: the typical short line employs about 30 people, operates about 80 route miles, and earns about $8 million in annual revenue. Our significance is not our size but who and where short lines serve.
For large areas of rural and small-town America, short lines are the only connection to the national rail network.
America’s short line railroads manage one-third of the national freight rail network and touch in origination or destination one-fifth of all carloads moving on that national network. Together, short lines operate in 49 states, are tied to 478,000 jobs nationwide, $26.1 billion in labor income and $56.2 billion in economic value-add — providing a service that over 10,000 businesses rely upon to receive their raw materials and/or get their products to market. Although short lines transport all commodities, three industries are particularly reliant on short lines — energy, agriculture and manufacturing.
Short line legislative priorities include access to capital — particularly for track maintenance and improvements, avoiding transportation policy that threatens access to rail; and securing balanced regulatory policy.
Short lines must continue to upgrade and maintain tracks, routinely spending between 25% and 33% of revenue annually towards this effort. The 45G Tax Credit is critical, resulting in more than $8B of private investment dollars to date spent in maintaining and upgrading tracks. Short lines have called for modernization of this successful and bi-partisan public/private partnership. For more information on this initiative, click here.
The next Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill will impact railroad transportation for years to come and it’s vital that a strong rail title be included. Click to learn more about what short lines are looking for:
Short Lines and Regional Railroads of the United States
