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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 staff will be arriving in Denver this week for the Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition, taking place April 6 to 8. As more than 1750 attendees start packing their bags and organizations gather their exhibition materials, it’s important to remember that registration is still open for the event! Encourage your colleagues to join you!
Registered conference attendees should look for a “Know Before You Go” email tomorrow that will include information about transportation, local weather, the official conference app and more. See the conference schedule here. Otherwise, keep reading for a recap of all the events and opportunities packed into the conference’s three days – you’ll be amazed at all this event has to offer.
This year’s conference will feature a General Session on both Monday and Tuesday morning from 8 to 10 a.m. Featured speakers during Monday’s General Session are Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena and a RailPulse panel that will include Norfolk Southern Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Mike McClellan, Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services Inc. Chief Commercial Officer Mike Peters and RailPulse General Manager David Shannon.
The featured speaker during Tuesday’s General Session will be Surface Transportation Board Chair Patrick Fuchs.
The annual conference is an opportunity to celebrate the many accomplishments of those in the short line freight rail industry. ASLRRA is excited to honor each of this year’s award winners during the two General Sessions.
During Monday’s General Session, the following awards will be presented:
During Tuesday’s General Session, the following awards will be bestowed:
The Expo Hall is often thought of as the social hub of the Annual Conference, and this year is no different. There will be over 250 booths offering nearly all the products and services a railroad could want or need. Multiple networking breaks, meals and evening receptions will take place in the Expo Hall, which will include coffee stations and specialty bars. Photographers will also be in the Expo Hall on Monday evening to take complimentary professional headshots of attendees.
The depth and breadth of educational offerings is one of the hallmarks of ASLRRA’s annual conference. Offerings this year fall under 12 different industry tracks, including finance, human resources, safety and training, technology, mechanical and more. Industry- and subject-matter experts will present over 45 hours of information on today’s most important rail issues.
ASLRRA’s standing committees help guide the Association’s work, and the conference is the one time each year when every committee meets in-person. This year, meetings are spread out over all three days of the conference and most of them are open to all ASLRRA members. View the committee meeting link above to see a full meeting schedule and find out who may attend.
Given Denver’s notoriously fickle spring weather, ASLRRA is offering a Lucky Strike Networking Event in lieu of a golf tournament on Tuesday afternoon. This event allows conference attendees to connect outside the Colorado Convention Center, enjoying food, drinks and fun games in a laid-back environment. All those wanting to attend the Lucky Strike event must be sure to add it when registering for the conference. The Young Professionals Committee will be offering a friendly competition at the event! Registration is free for Class II and III railroad members.
Tickets for the Sunday train excursion hosted by Rocky Mountaineer are sold out. Those who will be participating in the excursion received a separate email with final instructions on March 31. Anyone who did not receive this email, which lists the time to report to Union Station and includes required waivers, should contact Lauren Schlechte.
Aon is the newest member of ASLRRA’s Member Discount Program, the exclusive provider of workforce assessments. Association members will have access to discount pricing from Aon and exceptional solutions and service from Aon’s Talent Assessment team.
“Adopting proven candidate screening procedures that measure the critical skills needed for safety and success on the job will help our members select and retain the best candidates. Great hires contribute to short lines’ ability to provide safe, flexible operations, and the excellent customer service we are known for,” said ASLRRA President Chuck Baker. “We are pleased to have Aon join our Member Discount program as the preferred provider of pre-hire talent assessments.”
Aon is the world’s leading enterprise solution provider for the most accurate and fair pre-hire talent assessments at scale and has assessed more than one million candidates for North American railroads over the past decade. Aside from the delivery of talent assessments and candidate scores and reporting, other solutions and services available to ASLRRA members include job analysis, test development, predictive analytics/validation, implementation, continuous improvement on assessment performance and analytics to evaluate return on investment.
“For more than 25 years we have brought innovative and successful assessment solutions to the rail industry, resulting in better candidate selection decisions and positive business impact,” said Michael DeNunzio, PhD, transportation and mobility sector lead for Aon’s Talent Assessment Team. “We look forward to assisting ASLRRA members in developing an assessment process that achieves their hiring and retention goals.”
For more on Aon and a full listing of solutions and services available, members can login and click here.
To join ASLRRA’s Member Discount Program, contact ASLRRA’s Senior Vice President, Education and Business Services Sabrina Waiss.
The Federal Railroad Administration’s Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-way Employees and Signalmen (FAMES) Committee has recently shared three important documents, a new FAMES alert, a 1-2-3-4 Talking Points tip sheet and an informational sheet defining roadway maintenance machines (RMMs). FAMES alerts and other notices can be found at ASLRRA’s website on the Safety Alerts, Reports and Advisories page.
The FAMES alert discusses a recent non-fatal accident involving a roadway worker and an Amtrak train. The work group was told to return to the Pre-determined Place of Safety (PPOS) and on-track protection was released, but one worker who was fouling the track was injured. Although the committee has not completed its analysis of the incident, the group reminds workers that they must clear to a PPOS when notified they will no longer have on-track protection.
The committee is currently working on a year-long initiative to reduce roadway worker fatalities, releasing a 1-2-3-4 Talking Points sheet that offers tips for safe practices under four categories, Communication, Teamwork, Lockout/Tagout and Operation. As part of this initiative the committee also published a “What is an RMM?” information sheet defining an RMM according to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 214. The committee hopes to clear up misunderstanding among those who believe RMMs are only on-track equipment, noting that RMMs may have road or rail wheels or may be stationary.
In the April edition of its Q&A series, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) discusses benefits that may be payable to a railroad employee’s widow(er), children and certain other dependents.
The Q&A identifies general service eligibility requirements for survivor benefits, which apply for all cases except one type of lump-sum death benefit. Also explained are annuities for surviving divorced spouses and remarried widow(er)s, annuities paid to children and other dependents, how benefits are calculated, what types of lump-sum death benefits are payable and more.
On March 26, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit held a hearing titled “America Builds: How Trucking Supports American Communities.” During the hearing, lawmakers and witnesses discussed proposals to increase truck size and weight.
Three of the witnesses represented organizations that support the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT). They each testified to the negative impact of heavier, longer trucks, pointing out safety concerns for drivers and the public, the damage that would be inflicted on roads and bridges and the economic burden that would be put on truck drivers and small carriers needing to retrofit their equipment.
Several representatives asked questions that pointed out other potential problems with larger, heavier trucks. Their comments and questions further emphasized safety issues, concerns of truckers about driving larger configurations and worries expressed by law enforcement officials about the potential for more severe accidents involving big trucks.
The hearing took place the same day that CABT held a legislative fly-in, which featured CABT coalition member representatives holding nearly 80 meetings with lawmakers. ASLRRA’s Crystal Gitchell participated in the fly-in.
ASLRRA is a member of CABT and has joined the organization in its efforts to raise awareness of the damage to infrastructure caused by bigger, heavier trucks. More information about the Association’s position on this issue can be found on its Truck Size and Weight Increase policy page.
Volkert, Inc., based in Mobile, Alabama, is a professional services firm that offers a full range of planning, engineering, and construction and program management services to public and private clients. Special services include railroad design & CEI, bridge design, site civil design, environmental assessment/NEPA compliance, grant writing, GIS mapping and program/construction management. In 2025, Volkert celebrated its 100-year anniversary with over 1,700 employees in 60+ offices spanning 25 states. Director of Industrial Development Daniel Parker is our primary contact and can be reached on (423) 802-3563.
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.
ASLRRA welcomes its newest team member, Prashant Bhargava. He is the Association’s manager of IT systems and database management.
Bhargava will be responsible for the Association’s day-to-day IT operations. He brings nearly a decade of experience to his new role, having worked in a variety of sectors such as nonprofits, federal government contracting and education technology. He also has experience in technology integration efforts for multiple mergers and acquisitions.
Although he is new to the short line freight rail industry, Bhargava has always found railroads fascinating. He has fond memories of taking cross-country train trips as a child while visiting family in India, and these days, he and his wife often use Amtrak to visit his parents in New Jersey.
“As I've learned more about short lines, I feel proud and fortunate to support an industry that provides safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transport of freight around the country,” said Bhargava.
Bhargava’s interest in working with technology began in his youth.
“I've always enjoyed troubleshooting and helping family members who aren't as technically inclined,” he said. “I was fortunate to turn that passion into a career, using enterprise technology to empower fellow employees. I find it rewarding to guide them through changes with empathy and ensure technology works as an enabler, not a barrier.”
Now, in his role at the Association, Bhargava is eager to help support and guide ASLRRA in its efforts to use IT resources to accomplish its mission.
“I'm excited to collaborate on developing user-friendly solutions that make our daily tasks easier and follow best practices for data security,” he said.
In his spare time, Bhargava enjoys watching and playing sports. He’s recently taken up basketball and plays kickball on the National Mall. He also enjoys attending concerts and collecting records.
ASLRRA's new manager of IT systems, Prashant Bhargava, shared this photo from his wedding in 2023. While new to the freight rail industry, he and his wife are frequent Amtrak riders.
ASLRRA’s Annual Conference offers education sessions on a wide variety of industry topics, but such critical educational opportunities do not end after the conference is over. The Association will offer six in-person training seminars throughout the rest of 2025, focused on important regulatory topics.
The upcoming training seminars are:
These seminars, presented by industry- and subject-matter experts, offer critical insight into many of the rules and regulations governing freight railroads. In addition, attendees participate in discussions with fellow industry professionals, which provides an opportunity to learn from peers.
Follow the links above to learn more about each event and to register.
Employees of small railroads are eligible for scholarships to help them attend important industry training. Click here to learn more about ASLRRA’s scholarship opportunities.
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) will invest $400 million in grade crossing upgrades statewide, a plan outlined in the recently approved five-year Crossing Safety Improvement Program.
According to an ICC press release, funds for the program will come from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund and Rebuild Illinois and are recommended to be allocated toward upgrades for 26 highway bridges, eight pedestrian projects, 358 warning device upgrades and 571 low-cost improvements at 963 crossing locations.
Chuck Baker participated in an interview with The Roundhouse Podcast, which is now available on the podcast website. In the interview, Baker discusses the state of the short line freight rail industry so far in 2025. He also talks about ASLRRA’s advocacy efforts on behalf of short lines and touches on freight railroads getting involved in the tourist excursion business.
One popular webinar series has been ASLRRA’s three-part overview of railroad retirement eligibility and benefits, presented with representatives from the Railroad Retirement Board. Recordings of these webinars are available in ASLRRA’s On-Demand Webinars library. Members can access these recordings for free at their convenience. Look for the following titles:
Visit ASLRRA’s webinar homepage and log in to view all the on-demand offerings in the Association’s webinar library.
Railway Age magazine will host the third-annual Young Professional Conference virtually on April 24. The free event is geared toward helping individuals in the railroad industry advance their careers.
Event speakers will include Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services Inc. CEO North America Michael Miller, Surface Transportation Board Chair Patrick Fuchs, CSX Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Diana Sorfleet, Railroad Development Corp. Vice President, Strategic Planning Ida Posner and others. Several recipients of this year’s 25 Under 40 Awards will also participate.
Click here for more information and to register for the event.
Click here for a calendar of industry events.
Views & News is published by American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Please contact Mariel Takamura, associate editor, with questions or comments.
