Finger Lakes Rail Experience Expands for 2026
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On May 22, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee passed the BUILD America 250 Act, a proposed five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027–2031. ASLRRA appreciates the committee’s bipartisan work to advance the bill.
Short lines are encouraged by some provisions in the bill and look forward to continuing to work with Congress to improve others as the legislation advances.
“As a first draft, the BUILD America 250 Act has some welcome provisions that will enhance safety, capacity and reliability for short lines, including a robust authorization of the successful CRISI program and a continuation of funding for the Section 130 grade crossing program. However, if the final legislation provides only an authorization for CRISI without the guaranteed funding included under the IIJA, it will represent a step backward for short line rail investment,” said Chuck Baker, President, ASLRRA.
“Beyond that, during the House T&I Committee markup, we were disappointed to see an amendment accepted to increase truck weights to 91,000 pounds in some states through a 10-year pilot program. Heavier trucks would shift freight from the safer and more sustainable rail network onto the more dangerous and already overburdened and heavily subsidized highway network.
Additionally, the Committee adopted a broad Railway Safety Act amendment. While short line railroads were not directly targeted, these provisions would nonetheless impose costly and inflexible mandates on the rail network as a whole if passed into law. At a time when the public is concerned with rising costs, these amendments do not serve our nation well. We pledge to work constructively with Congress to improve this bill as it advances,” continued Baker.
Beyond CRISI and Section 130, the BUILD America 250 Act also contains some other positive provisions with potential to significantly improve short line infrastructure and operations, including:
Among the bill’s regulatory provisions, some reforms are constructive — including the 50-year freight car rule and encouragement of more performance-based rulemaking — while others raise concerns, including proposals to study expanded third-party access to private railroad rights-of-way without just compensation and a new manual track inspection and TGMS mandate.
Overall, although modest steps toward a user-pay system were identified for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the fund is still set to rely upon a massive general fund transfer to close the gap between the planned contract authority spending of $95B per year and HTF revenue of approximately $45B per year.
“As Congress continues work on surface transportation reauthorization, policymakers should either restore the Highway Trust Fund to a more sustainable user-funded model where our truck competitors pay something resembling a fair share or reconsider the structure of a system that provides guaranteed, heavily subsidized contract authority for highways and transit while rail programs are left to rely on unpredictable and insufficient annual discretionary appropriations,” said Baker.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has published a final rule concerning employee training and two proposed rules concerning employee certification.
The final rule, Training, Qualification, and Oversight for Safety-Related Railroad Employees, amends the FRA’s training rule regulation to codify agency guidance and clarify existing requirements. The rule is effective July 14. ASLRRA is reviewing the rule for its impact on short line railroads.
One part of the final rule allows employees to have a “test out option” as a substitute for some refresher training. This change is based in part on comments submitted by ASLRRA and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association, Inc. (NRC) requesting a testing option.
The two notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) are the Certification of Signal Employees and the Certification of Dispatchers. Both NPRMs are responses to petitions for reconsideration of a final rule published May 21, 2024. The NPRMs propose to completely rescind both final rules.
ASLRRA was one of the organizations that petitioned the FRA to reconsider the final certification rules. The final rule requires railroads to develop written programs for certifying signal employees and dispatchers, as well as providing formal training and certification revocation processes.
In its petitions (signal employee and dispatcher), ASLRRA recommended specific rule changes and endorsed petitions for reconsideration made by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the Commuter Rail Coalition.
On May 20th, the House Committee on Appropriations, subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, marked up their portion of the FY27 funding bill without IIJA advanced funding. While we are still waiting for more details on funding for the Short Line Safety Institute and other rail related programs, the following funding levels were approved by the subcommittee:
The Full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to markup the bill on June 3.
Interactive Rail delivers practical, hands-on training that bridges the gap between classroom learning and real-world railroad operations. Developed and taught by active railroad professionals, their solutions range from immersive 3D eLearning to in-the-field track inspections. By focusing on how the industry actually works, they provide high-quality field services and training that maximize the value of your workforce investment. Contact Les Hanlon at (240) 347-1444 to inquire about training or on-site field services.
ASLRRA will be opening registration in early June for our NEW Fall Super Region Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. This meeting will combine ASLRRA’s Eastern and Southern and Central and Pacific meetings, the Finance and Administration Seminar and the General Counsel Symposium. The meeting will be held Oct. 5-7 in St. Louis, Missouri.
SPEAKER PROPOSALS SOUGHT — ASLRRA continues to accept proposals for speaker presentations. Potential event speakers are invited to offer their ideas for industry-related presentations at the regional meeting. Proposals must be submitted via online form and are due June 1. Incomplete submissions or proposals sent in after the due date will not be considered. For more information, view the full call for proposals here.
SPONSORSHIPS ARE OPEN — Becoming a meeting sponsor puts organizations in front of hundreds of attendees and includes mention in various ASLRRA communications including in Views & News and on social media.
Visit ASLRRA’s website to learn more about each sponsorship level and the associated benefits. Contact meetings@aslrra.org to ask questions or purchase a sponsorship.
Registration and hotel room blocks will open June 2. Mark your calendars to be among the first to sign up and take advantage of early bird rates.
The money you save working with ASLRRA's Member Discount Program Preferred Providers could cover your annual dues and then some! Whether you operate ten or one hundred miles of track, you can save thousands of dollars a year on products and services you already use. From tie inspection services and personal protective equipment to industry-specific software and grant writing services, ASLRRA's vetted Preferred Providers deliver exceptional service and exclusive discounts to ASLRRA members nationwide.
Learn more about ASLRRA’s Member Discount Program here and view all available products and services.
Member Discount Program Preferred Providers are carefully selected from ASLRRA’s vetted supplier community. If your company is interested in becoming an exclusive ASLRRA Preferred Provider, please contact Sabrina Waiss at (202) 585-3434.
View recorded webinars provided by the Short Line Safety InstituteTM, including:
Ask the Experts — Cultivating a Shared Safety Vision: Join subject matter experts from the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSITM), for a webinar that will explore the benefits of having a Safety Vision and provide steps on how to develop one.
Ask the Experts — Safety Action Plans: The Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) dives into the benefits of having a Safety Action Plan and provides steps on how to develop one.
Log in to ASLRRA’s webinar homepage to view all on-demand offerings.
Less than 10 seats remain!
Professional Trainer Development, Leadership Program – July 14-16, Charlotte, North Carolina
Fast-track your training expertise! Whether early in your training career, or decades into it, this course will level up skills for delivering exceptional training outcomes on your railroad
See additional upcoming seminars as well as event details and online registration and hotel booking links.
ASLRRA’s Supplier Committee has elected Rachel Hays of Red Giant Oil as the new Vice Chair. Rachel serves as Director of Sales – Railroad Enterprises at Red Giant Oil. She steps into the role following Mark Bremmer’s retirement as Senior Marketing Director for PS Technology, Inc. We extend our appreciation to Mark for his many contributions to both the committee and ASLRRA. We wish him all the best as he embarks on this exciting new chapter in retirement!
The Committee is thrilled to welcome Rachel Hays into this leadership role and look forward to the vision and energy she will bring as we continue advancing the committee together.
If you’d like to join the Supplier Committee, contact liaison, Danialle Lovik, for more information.
Last week, (right to left) legal intern Emeline Stewart, Sarah Yurasko and Jo Strang attended a live-streamed press conference held by the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA) on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The event called for federal action to adopt a safety carve-out to preserve marijuana testing for safety-sensitive transportation employees in rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug.
Recently, Sabrina Waiss (below, left) rode Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway’s bike train with friends. Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway is operated by ASLRRA member Reading & Northern Railroad. For the excursion, riders’ bikes are loaded into gondola cars and everyone rides the train 25 miles from the town of Jim Thorpe, through Lehigh Gorge State Park, to the town of White Haven. Then bikes are offloaded and people cycle back. Waiss said the ride was lovely, with river views and waterfalls, and noted there were picnic areas, water stations and restrooms along the path back.
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.
Views & News is published by American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Please contact Mariel Takamura, associate editor, with questions or comments.
