SMS Rail Service Names Carla Schuster as Business Development Manager
Watco embraces Smoky Ridge, a small railroad with a mighty past
Railroad members! If you want to be featured in this section, please email us the link. You can also tag us (@ASLRRA) in your social media posts. Interested in seeing your railroad showcased in your local newspaper? Contact Amy Krouse for assistance.
ASLRRA’s Business Development Award recognizes its members’ most successful business projects, highlighting the innovative, out-of-the-box thinking that’s required to help short line railroads grow and thrive. ASLRRA is pleased to announce the winners of ASLRRA’s Business Development Awards, Lake State Railway and TGS Cedar Port Railroad.
Both Lake State Railway and TGS Cedar Port Railroad will be honored at ASLRRA's Annual Conference, taking place April 12-14 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Lake State Railway
Short line railroads are always working to attract new business, but expanding partnerships with current customers can be just as effective in driving economic growth for multiple stakeholders. ASLRRA Business Development Award Winner Lake State Railway (LSRC) proved exactly that through its recent work with longtime customer Specification Stone, reshaping how aggregates move across Michigan.
Though this project was ten years in the making, recent completion of upgrades and a high throughput facility have positioned LSRC and Specification Stone to grow significantly in the future. Already the customer has expanded the loading capacity in Alpena, diversified the stone types shipped and opened a new terminal near Flint, Michigan.
LSRC leveraged its strong relationships, local presence and entrepreneurial spirit to help move the project to completion. As a result, customers will have more competitive and reliable options for stone delivery in central and southern Michigan. This will benefit large-scale aggregate customers like road construction companies, which further supports economic development in the region. LSRC expects stone volumes to increase significantly over the next several years.
Not satisfied with the status quo, LSRC turned a long-term customer relationship into a greater success story through grit and determination. Bringing its equipment and infrastructure into the 21st century positioned LSRC to support shipper growth, resulting in significant benefits for the railroad, the customer and communities across Michigan.
TGS Cedar Port Railroad
TGS Cedar Port Railroad (TGS Cedar Port), earned this year’s award for development of a new railcar cleaning and transloading rack bringing together multiple ancillary railcar services, including cleaning, de-gassing, nitrogen padding, repairs, requalification, storage and transloading. This facility enables customers to eliminate multiple off-site moves per car, lowering costs, reducing dwell time and improving asset utilization.
The TGS Cedar Port team recognized the inefficiencies its customers were experiencing, having to incur costs moving cars between different cleaning shops, repair facilities and storage yards. The completed project now offers customers complete vertical integration. Trans-Global Solutions (TGS), the railroad’s parent company, owns the industrial park and operates the cleaning and transloading rack. The park hosts repair companies and has over 125 miles of internal track served by TGS Cedar Port. There are also approximately 6,000 on-site railcar storage positions.
While taking advantage of these streamlined offerings sounds like a no-brainer for shippers wanting more efficient car services, TGS Cedar Port still needed to convince wary customers to shift their business. To do so, TGS Cedar Port had to demonstrate a superior economic value with lower costs and faster turnaround. The marketing and operations teams worked together closely to bring in initial customers, offering introductory pricing and building strong relationships.
Once these early customers were on board, demand for services grew quickly. To date, the operation has cleaned over 2,800 railcars and supported over 3,000 associated truck movements. TGS Cedar Port has also added new full-time positions, as have the on-site repair companies. These services have attracted new tenants to the industrial park, increasing local investment and tax revenue for the community while improving productivity for businesses.
ASLRRA has released its March Short Line Carloads Report, showing month-over-month changes in total carloads handled and year-over-year (YOY) comparisons in carload movement type and commodities handled.
Total carloads dipped from December 2025 to January 2026, but were still slightly higher than January 2025 volumes. When comparing YOY changes in carloads for specific commodities, the three that grew the most were agriculture, coal and waste. The largest decreases were in durable manufactured goods and lumber, paper and wood products. Also included in ASLRRA’s report is a table showing YOY changes in type of movement, originated, bridged or terminated, for each specific commodity group.
Carload data is based on a custom short line carload report created in cooperation between ASLRRA and Railinc based on waybill data submitted by railroads. This work product may not be disseminated without permission granted by ASLRRA. Contact ASLRRA at foelsner@aslrra.org for all inquiries.
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) has launched a public survey to help guide development of the 2026 Virginia Statewide Rail Plan. Survey responses are due March 27.
“The Statewide Rail Plan establishes a vision for the future of rail in Virginia, outlining both short-term (6-year) and long-term (20-year) investment horizons,” wrote DRPT in a press release.
The public is asked to comment on potential improvements to passenger rail service. They can also provide input on freight rail issues, such as highway-rail crossings. According to DRPT the survey should take five to ten minutes to complete.
DRPT also plans to conduct public meetings with the University of Virginia’s Institute for Engagement and Negotiation. The meetings will review survey findings and gather additional feedback on the state’s rail systems.
Kwest Group excels in performing complex civil construction projects safely. Their expertise enables them to tackle the most demanding projects with confidence, delivering exceptional results that their clients can rely on. They are known for their problem-solving approach and detailed project execution to carefully meet their clients’ needs. Communication is at the forefront of their skillsets to correlate timing, budget and quality of work for every individual task at hand. Senior Project Manager and primary contact, Jerry Maus, can be reached at 419-764-6337 or jerrymaus@kwestgroup.com.
Telemetry & Process Controls, Inc. (TPC) is a manufacturer and system integrator with more than three decades of leadership in providing high-performance industrial automation and control solutions. TPC specializes in custom PLC/SCADA platforms and UL-certified hazardous location panels designed for complex fueling, wastewater, transload, and infrastructure projects. Backed by a global service infrastructure supporting installations in over 20 countries, their team delivers end-to-end support from in-house design to on-site commissioning and maintenance. Primary contact and Director of Transportation Solutions, Josh Shaffer, can be reached at josh.shaffer@tpcusa.com or (651) 430-0435 for more information.
Willibrand Maritime & Rail acquires and leases transportation assets, with a focus on locomotive and marine equipment. They work directly with short line and regional railroads, industrial operators and intermediaries to provide reliable power and asset-backed leasing solutions. Our primary contact and Managing Principal, Tyler Willibrand, can be reached at tyler@willibrandmr.com or (314) 520-8116. Thank you to Tom Healey with Fletcher & Sippel LLC for recommending they join the Association.
As the premier short line freight rail industry event, ASLRRA’s Annual Conference & Exhibition offers extra benefits to attendees at no extra cost.
Those who are legal professionals or Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) accredited human resources professionals can earn continuing legal education credits (CLEs) or SHRM professional development credits (PDCs) by attending certain education sessions at the conference. Credit for these sessions can be earned at no extra cost to the participant. Click here to see which sessions are eligible for PDCs. Attendance at all legal sessions is required to earn all CLE credits.
ASLRRA’s Young Professionals Committee has arranged to offer volunteer training through Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) for those interested in becoming Operation Lifesaver Authorized Volunteers (OLAVs). OLI is a non-profit organization that provides rail safety education programs in states across the U.S.
Those interested in becoming OLAVs must complete an application, found here, and take a 30-minute online training course that must be completed before in-person training at the Annual Conference. After completing the e-learning portion, please notify OLI Director of Education and Training Moriah Whiteman.
As part of the many networking opportunities available, ASLRRA is hosting a Tuesday evening closing reception at Topgolf. Separate registration is required, but all Class II and III railroad members can attend the event free of charge. Participants will enjoy food, drinks and friendly competition at this popular spot.
An Annual Conference hotel is newly added, the Hilton Garden Inn, Minneapolis, Minnesota, offering ASLRRA special rates. Book your room for the ASLRRA Annual Conference & Exhibition today! Registration rates increase March 25. Register today!
While very limited, there are still a few booth spaces and sponsorships available for ASLRRA members to purchase. Click here to learn about reserving a booth, or click here to learn more about sponsorships. Individuals can also contact the meetings team to ask a question about sponsorships or booth sales.
What are the latest ways Association members can engage with ASLRRA? What is ASLRRA’s most recent call-to-action? Below are some of the different types of information the Association would love to gather.
There are a few spots remaining in ASLRRA’s FRA Part 219 Drug & Alcohol Training Seminar and DER Roundtable, to be held next week, March 24-26 in Phoenix, Arizona.
The seminar features a two-day review of Part 219 Drug and Alcohol Training presented by experts from ASLRRA and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The third day includes the Short Line DER Roundtable featuring presentations and discussions specifically designed for short line railroad Designated Employer Representatives.
Registration is also open for four other in-person seminars, including:
The Association continues to finalize its 2026 in-person training schedule. Click here to view the current and planned schedule. ASLRRA will update its website with registration links and other details as they become available.
Several of ASLRRA’s in-person seminars are eligible for the Association’s scholarship program. The Doug Golden Scholarship awards up to $1,200 to small-railroad employees to cover registration fees and travel and lodging costs.
Scholarship applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. Click here to learn more about the scholarship and submit an application.
ASLRRA Member Discount Program Preferred Provider MaxAccel offers a suite of software products available in web and mobile-based solutions to assist small railroads in driving safety, regulatory compliance, operational efficiency and return on investment.
MaxAccel’s product offerings available as part of the Member Discount Program include all eight solutions on the AssetPro and SafeTrack Platforms. ASLRRA members can choose one application or several to make MaxAccel their single solution for electronic recordkeeping. MaxAccel also provides interactive infographic analytics capabilities for easy assessment of reporting and risk management.
Over 220 freight railroads, passenger operations and railroad contractors rely on MaxAccel’s electronic recordkeeping applications every day, making them some of the most widely used in the rail transportation industry.
Click here to learn more about ASLRRA’s Member Discount Program and view all of the products and services available from the Association’s Preferred Providers.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has awarded $20 million in grants through the Rail Freight Infrastructure Program. Five of the six railroads receiving funding are ASLRRA members.
According to a CTDOT press release, these projects will “help reduce highway congestion, support economic growth, and improve freight mobility across Connecticut.” The ASLRRA members receiving grants are Connecticut Southern Railroad, Housatonic Railroad, Naugatuck Railroad, New England Central Railroad and Providence and Worcester Railroad.
With their awards, these railroads will repair bridges, resurface multiple grade crossings and upgrade crossing safety devices, replace older rail and ties and construct new turnouts. These projects will allow railroads to support higher-capacity rail movements and improve customer service, improve overall safety and service reliability and much more.
This section highlights ASLRRA members that have received Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grants, showcasing the importance of this funding and how benefits reach beyond the railroad itself.
If your railroad has received a CRISI grant and would like to submit information for this section please complete our online form.
Project Facts
Railroad: Napoleon, Defiance & Western (NDW)
Fiscal Year: 2020
Grantee: Ohio Rail Development Corporation
CRISI Grant: $4,112,452
Local Match: $4,112,452 (50%)
Total Project Cost: $8,224,904
The project upgraded approximately 10 miles of 80-lb. rail with 132 to 136-lb. rail and replaced approximately 29,000 ties on 29 miles of rail between Woodburn, Indiana and Defiance, Ohio. The project was required to reduce the number of derailments previously occurring on this segment.
Notable Quotes
“The NDW provides transportation for our tomato paste from California to our facility saving us a lot of time and money versus going over the road. The rehabilitation also offers us new opportunities to move more materials by rail.”
Gavin Serrao, Cambell’s Soup Logistics Manager, Napoleon, Ohio
This week, Chuck Baker attended two events in Washington, D.C. They were the Colocation of Utilities in Transportation Corridors, a P3 Model Roundtable at U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters and a summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce titled Keep America Moving: Transportation, Infrastructure, and America’s Future.
Speakers at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce summit included Representative Sam Graves of Missouri (left), who is chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Join subject matter experts from the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI), for a webinar that will explore the benefits of having a Safety Vision and provide steps on how to develop one. A Safety Vision is a slogan or statement of clear goals and aspirations for workplace safety that should be prominently displayed and understood by all employees. Whether you don't know where to begin or have already developed one and have specific questions, SLSI's "Ask the Experts" is here to be your resource to keep safety on track. Attendees will have an opportunity to participate in Q&A at the end of the presentation.
Speakers: Sam Cotton, Director of Safety Culture Programs; Julia Leone, PhD, Assistant Director of Research and Organizational Development; Karen Adams, Safety Culture Assessor; Trevon Matthews, Safety Culture Assessor, Short Line Safety Institute
ASLRRA maintains an industry calendar featuring events that may be of interest to members. If you have an industry event you would like included on the calendar and possibly in Views & News, please send relevant event details and links to Mariel Takamura for consideration.
CSX Corporation announced it added 21 sites across 10 states to its CSX Select Site program. Each site was given a gold, silver or bronze rating, designating it a highly desirable rail-served property.
Some of these sites are served by ASLRRA members, including member parent company R. J. Corman Railroad Group. R. J. Corman’s Willoughby Site in Marion, South Carolina received a Bronze Designation, in part for its proximity to major transportation infrastructure and ongoing infrastructure investment.
Views & News is published by American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Please contact Mariel Takamura, associate editor, with questions or comments.
