Verde Canyon Railroad adds Taawaki Inn to railroad experience
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Though the year is little more than half over, ASLRRA has awarded nearly all available scholarship funding through the Doug Golden Scholarship program. This unprecedented demand demonstrates the benefit these programs have for members looking to send employees to critical in-person training seminars.
Retired former ASLRRA board member Doug Golden has donated $72,000 to the Doug Golden Scholarship program through the Douglas Golden-Mary Cullen Charitable Fund. As a former short line railroad owner, Golden has had first-hand experience balancing training needs with budget and staffing constraints. Knowing the ability to afford training was and is an issue for small railroads, Golden chose to give back to the community by investing in railroaders.
Since the program began in 2020, ASLRRA has awarded 51 scholarships worth $1,200 each, helping railroads pay for employees’ registration fees, travel and lodging. This funding has benefitted railroads in 21 states, but the ripple effect is even more significant.
Every person able to attend events covering railroad inspection and maintenance or regulatory and compliance and safety and operations training brings that knowledge back to the workplace. Not only that, in-person training allows for networking with industry colleagues that can offer more insight into the challenges railroaders experience daily.
Rob Phares, safety compliance and technology officer at Squaw Creek Southern Railroad, discussed the benefits of the Doug Golden Scholarship program in a recent email to ASLRRA.
“So many railroads out there do not go to these [training events] because it is very expensive to send employees to these seminars by the time travel, hotel and cost of the conference is figured in,” said Phares. “This scholarship allows smaller railroads to have a better, more level playing field with the big railroads when it comes to continued education and training.”
“We are a railroad of about 20 people,” continued Phares, “so [this scholarship] has helped us tremendously. It has allowed us to send more people than usual [to training] because of the financial break it gave us.”
While the Doug Golden Scholarship benefits from a recurring annual donation, individual one-time donations have also helped ASLRRA members attend training.
The family of the late Lowell “Jake” Jacobson made a one-time donation of $5,000 to ASLRRA to establish the Jake Jacobson Memorial Scholarship program, which helps cover the cost of registration for an in-person training seminar hosted by the Association. This program has also experienced demand that outstrips supply.
Jacobson was the former president and general manager of the Copper Basin Railway, founder of the ASLRRA Jake Awards and the 2024 Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame posthumous inductee. His family’s generous donation has helped further Jacobson’s legacy and support the railroaders he spent his life working with and for.
Administering these scholarship programs is an opportunity for which ASLRRA is grateful. The Association is happy to support small railroads and help railroaders acquire up-to-date information in this demanding and highly regulated industry.
Learn more about ASLRRA’s scholarships and access an application form at this link. For more information about contributing to the scholarship program or setting up a scholarship fund, contact Mariel Takamura.
In the July edition of its monthly question and answer (Q&A) series, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) discusses annuities payable to spouses and divorced spouses.
The Q&A reviews general eligibility requirements and explains how railroad retirement annuities are computed for employees and spouses. According to the RRB, age requirements for a spouse annuity depend on the employee’s age, date of retirement and years of railroad service. The Q&A also points out that spouses can receive railroad retirement spouse annuities even if they are also receiving non-railroad retirement benefits based on their own work and earnings.
The Q&A goes on to explain the situation in which a divorced spouse annuity may be payable to the retired employee’s divorced wife or husband. There are also select components of the employee annuity that can be subject to legal partition or garnishment.
Six more members of the House have signed on as cosponsors of the bill to modify the 45G short line railroad track maintenance credit since ASLRRA and members of the Association’s Legislative Policy Committee (LPC) held a mini fly-in at the end of June.
The newest cosponsors of H.R. 516 are
Seven states have achieved the distinction of having their entire congressional delegation counted among cosponsors of H.R. 516 and its companion bill in the Senate, S. 1532. These states are Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Kansas, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The bills would modernize 45G by increasing the credit cap to $6,100 per mile, index the credit to inflation and extend credit eligibility to all short-line-owned track miles. Since its inception in 2005, the tax credit has driven over $8 billion in private infrastructure investment.
The Association appreciates all those who have reached out to their elected officials to raise awareness of the importance of 45G modernization and either encourage co-sponsorship or thank them for their support. ASLRRA urges individuals to continue these efforts, whether through written communication, phone calls or in-person visits. The summer is also an ideal time for railroads to invite elected officials to tour their facilities, as seeing operations first-hand can help officials better understand how 45G-backed infrastructure investments have a direct impact on operational safety and efficiency.
To learn more about 45G modernization and view information and talking points, visit ASLRRA’s 45G Short Line Tax Credit Modernization webpage. For assistance connecting with your elected officials or to ask questions about the advocacy process, contact the Association’s government affairs team.
ASLRRA joined a broad coalition of manufacturing, transportation, retail, agricultural and logistics organizations in a letter to Senate Commerce Committee leaders, urging them to include innovation-friendly safety policies in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill.
The letter, addressed to Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) argues that overly rigid requirements could hinder the industry-led innovation that has long driven transportation safety improvements. This innovation includes stronger rail equipment standards and automated inspection systems.
Led by the National Association of Manufacturers, the coalition calls for performance-based approaches to policy. These approaches should encourage innovation, support performance-based standards and allow for continued technological advancement. In this way, Congress can empower industry to strengthen both the safety and resilience of the national transportation network.
Other organizations signing the letter include the Association of American Railroads (AAR), Intermodal Association of North America, Railway Supply Institute (RSI), Retail Industry Leaders Association, The Fertilizer Institute and the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA).
Know a company that would benefit from joining and participating in ASLRRA? Please contact Vice President, Membership Danialle Lovik via email or at (202) 585-3443.
Newport Sensors, Inc. (NSI) develops advanced sensors, wireless communication and embedded electronics, and AI-driven analytics solutions to enhance railroad safety. Their practical, field-deployable solutions range from roadway worker and maintenance-of-way vehicle collision warning, platform-edge detection, unintended train-door-open detection, wireless sensor networks, onboard axle bearing health monitoring, early detection of lithium-ion battery thermal runaway, and HazMat tracking and safety monitoring. NSI is committed to helping railroads improve worker protection, operational safety, asset monitoring, and situational awareness through cost-effective technologies designed for real-world deployment. Primary contact and Chief Engineer Masato Mizuta can be reached at infor@newportsensors.com or (844) 800-4248.
Located in the high desert of Southern California in the community of Campo, you will find the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, also known as the Campo Railroad. The PSRM has collection of historic rail cars that provide a taste of the railroading history of Southern California with an emphasis on railroading in San Diego County. In addition to their museum, the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum offers a scenic 45-minute train trip along the U.S./Mexico border winding through the mountainous desert landscape. ASLRRA thanks Martin Caestecker, with the California State Railroad Museum, for the recommendation.
ASLRRA’s Fall Super Regional Meeting will combine all four regions – Eastern, Central, Southern and Pacific – and the Finance & Administration Seminar and the General Counsel Symposium into one top-notch meeting, while retaining aspects of the smaller meetings that attendees have come to appreciate and expect.
Hear ASLRRA President Chuck Baker describe what makes this inaugural meeting an excellent blend of new and old.
The Fall meeting also offers an opportunity for ASLRRA’s working committees to get business done. View the full event schedule by clicking here.
Register and secure your hotel by July 18 to lock in the best rates.
ASLRRA welcomes organizations interested in sponsoring this year’s inaugural event. Visit ASLRRA’s website to learn more or contact meetings@aslrra.org to ask questions and purchase a sponsorship.
Wi-Tronix’s comprehensive platform combines hardware, software, and cloud services for maximized fleet efficiency and reliability. Their powerful onboard platform grants unparalleled visibility into rail operations, enabling real time, data-driven decisions for peak performance.
Click here to learn more about ASLRRA’s Member Discount Program and view all available products and services, or contact ASLRRA’s Sabrina Waiss for more information about becoming a Preferred Provider.
With the Short Line Training Center’s online Learning Management System (LMS), short line railroads can access comprehensive, railroad-specific training programs, interactive coursework and assessment materials. Available courses include:
Click here to learn more about the Short Line Training Center and view a complete list of courses available online through the LMS.
Last chance to register!
Leadership Program Professional Trainer Development
July 14-16, Charlotte, North Carolina
The training is intended for anyone who teaches, trains, or leads others and who would like to become a more confident presenter and more skilled in designing training for adult learners. Whether just starting as a presenter or instructor or having led training for decades, this course will level up skills for delivering exceptional training in a range of settings, from the classroom to the railyard.
Course content includes designing training using adult learning principles, managing participant engagement and the learning environment, enhancing personal presentation skills, and developing course materials using Bloom’s Taxonomy for Instructional Design and ADDIE methods.
Click here to see additional upcoming seminars as well as event details and online registration and hotel booking links.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced recipients of funding from the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program. A total of $1.73 million will go to 127 projects in 52 states, territories and the District of Columbia.
The bulk of the grants, which are awarded for surface transportation infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impact, went to roadway projects. However, ASLRRA member Alaska Railroad Corporation did receive $8.5 million for the Port of Seward Capacity and Resiliency Project, which will widen the dock used by vessels to load, unload, and transfer cargo.
The dock will be expanded to a uniform width of approximately 300 feet along the entire surface, which will increase terminal capacity, improve loading and unloading efficiency, reduce ship delays and enhance safety.
BUILD grants were previously known as the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grants. The program allows project sponsors to pursue multimodal and multi-jurisdictional projects that can be more difficult to fund through other grant programs.
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.
Due to demand, the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) has added additional spots for the special training opportunity being offered Aug. 11-13 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The seminar combines the SLSI’s in-person Leading Forward – Skills Development for Railroad Professionals training seminar followed by a brief hazmat training program. This is the first time both events are being offered together. This training is available to participants at no cost, but registration is required. Click here to register today.
Views & News is published by American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Please contact Mariel Takamura, associate editor, with questions or comments.
