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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.
This week, members of ASLRRA’s committees gathered in Pueblo, Colorado for the Joint Committee Meeting, organized by ASLRRA committee members and hosted by Association supplier member Ensco.
The Joint Committee Meeting is one of several opportunities for members of ASLRRA’s standing committees to meet in person. After this week, the next opportunity will be at the Fall Super Regional Meeting, being held Oct. 5-7 in St. Louis, Missouri. At the meeting, most committee meetings are open to any Association member who is a registered event attendee. This includes those who are not formally part of any committee but want to learn more about the group and its work.
ASLRRA’s committees help guide the work of the Association and provide members a source of support and a forum for advice and information sharing. Committee members contribute a great deal to ASLRRA. For example, the Safety and Training (S&T) Committee has worked with staff to develop compliance templates, helping railroads ensure they meet federal requirements.
Other examples of ASLRRA’s committees include the Legislative Policy Committee (LPC), which supports and participates in ASLRRA’s advocacy efforts; the Small Railroad Committee, representing the interests of non-holding-company member railroads; the Young Professionals Committee, guiding younger members and connecting them with industry mentors; the Supplier Committee, addressing the needs and concerns of railroad industry suppliers; and the Technology Committee, helping monitor technological developments in the short line industry.
Committee membership is generally open to all ASLRRA members, including suppliers. The number of meetings can vary and are held both in-person and virtually throughout the year. In addition to the Joint Committee Meeting and the Fall Super Regional Meeting, in-person gatherings take place at the ASLRRA Annual Conference.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a new Safety Bulletin. This notification, Safety Bulletin 2026-004, involves the same incident identified in the Switching Operations Fatality Analysis (SOFA) Alert ASLRRA reported on last week.
The FRA’s Safety Bulletin 2026-004 responds to a serious injury that occurred when a conductor was trying to adjust a knuckle between two cuts of cars during a switching movement. One cut rolled back into the other, pinning the conductor between the couplers.
The FRA continues to investigate the accident, but in the meantime reminds railroads to review critical safety practices with employees and contractors. These reviews should include operating rules concerning going between rail equipment, operational testing, prior FRA Safety Bulletins 2023-01, 2024-05 and 2024-06 and FRA Safety Advisory 2013-03.
ASLRRA’s Safety Alerts, Reports and Advisories page compiles recent safety-related notifications from the FRA and other federal agencies. There, page visitors can find this SOFA Alert and the FRA’s most recent Safety Bulletin 2006-03, issued last week.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend regulations concerning the qualification and certification of locomotive engineers and conductors.
Comments on the rule are due Sept. 29. ASLRRA is reviewing the rule for its impact on short line railroads and plans to submit comments.
The FRA proposes to establish English language proficiency as a requirement for a railroad carrier to certify and recertify locomotive engineers and conductors. The rule would confirm English is mandatory and is to be used at all stages of the training and testing certification process. Because the FRA notes it is unaware of any U.S. railroad carrier that does not already conduct training and testing exclusively in English, the agency is not proposing railroad carriers must amend their existing programs.
The NPRM also includes revisions to rules governing international train crew operations and other training requirements. The FRA would:
On August 4, PHMSA published 16 final rules in the Federal Register. These rules were originally proposed as part of a mass publication of deregulatory NPRMs on July 1, 2025. Four final rules have particular impact on railroads:
On Sunday, Senate Appropriators released bipartisan legislation to fund the federal government from the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30th?until December 11, 2026. Besides this continuing resolution ("CR") on appropriations, the bill would extend the nation's surface transportation law framework through the same period. The House passed and sent to the Senate a competing partisan measure, H.R. 9770, on July 21st that would only provide a CR into FY 27 through December 4th.
Neither the Senate's proposed CR, nor the reauthorization extension, include the "advance appropriations" provided by the IIJA for many surface transportation grant programs, such as the baseline guaranteed $1 billion provided each year for CRISI since FY 2022. (The House proposal doesn't do this either.) CRISI only received $137 million in annual appropriations in 2026, the amount subject to continuation. Should this CR pass, FRA is expected to wait until full-year 2027 appropriations may be made by Congress before considering opening any next CRISI competition.
If passed, the Senate measure will give Congress time to finalize FY 27 appropriations and an opportunity to make progress on a Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill. As a reminder, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the BUILD AMERICA 250 Act out of committee in May. ASLRRA has significant concerns with that legislation, including lack of any guaranteed multi-year funding mechanism for programs like CRISI, expansions of truck size and weight limits, provisions related to automated track inspection technologies, and the inclusion of the entirety of the Railway Safety Act.
With a highly contested federal election on November 4, complex and divisive issues in the House reauthorization bill text, a limited amount of legislative time left in the 119th?Congress, and no reauthorization text released yet by the Senate, a further extension of the surface law well into 2027 is very possible by December 11th.
Guided by your Legislative Policy Committee, the ASLRRA staff team has been working on the challenge presented to short lines by the potential loss of historical high CRISI funding levels. Over the coming months, we and our partners will be working to educate Congress on the impacts of the looming loss of funding and advocating for multi-year guaranteed funding for CRISI and other programs.
With members home in August, it’s a great time to host members of Congress and regulatory staff at your property to discuss these issues! Recently, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Deputy Administrator Drew Feeley and Senior Policy Advisor Russell Roberts visited The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway (NYS&W) on July 30 for a tour and meetings with the community. Click here for more details.
Need help in setting up a visit? Contact ASLRRA’s staff for assistance.
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.
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V3’s safety-minded, rail-focused engineering team delivers expertise in track design, intermodal facilities, infrastructure improvements, and public and industrial projects. They are fully supported by structural engineering, construction oversight, environmental compliance, stormwater management, and permitting services. With over 450 designers, engineers, and scientists across 13 offices in the US and Canada devoted to your goals, there is no challenge V3 can’t conquer. Work with V3 and go beyond limits. Primary contact and Director of Railroad Services, Ted Niemeyer, P.E., can be reached at tniemeyer@v3co.com.
ASLRRA’s Fall Super Regional Meeting will be held Oct. 5-7 in St. Louis, Missouri. With all regions represented, it’s a key opportunity to elevate your company’s name and services through a Sponsorship.?There are packages available for every budget, with table top exhibit locations still available. Visit?ASLRRA’s website?to learn more or contact?meetings@aslrra.org?to ask questions and purchase a sponsorship.
The meeting will also offer more than 30 hours of education – many with CLE or PDC credits available and included as part of the registration fee. Planned sessions that benefit industry suppliers and railroaders include:
As a trusted partner to the rail industry, Würth delivers top quality products and personalized service day in and day out. ASLRRA members can expect exceptional customer service and exclusive discounted pricing on a huge assortment of products and equipment needed to implement an effective and efficient safety program.
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.
ASLRRA’s three-part webinar series on Railroad Retirement, presented by U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) subject matter experts, drew nearly 600 registered attendees and the recorded sessions are now available! Each webinar covers a different category of railroad retirement, unemployment, and sickness benefits; recordings include audience Q&A and run 60-90 minutes in length.
ASLRRA’s On-Demand Webinars resource library offers more than 200 webinar recordings on a variety of topics, from industry-specific finance, human resources and legal issues to railroad safety, regulatory compliance, business development and more.
FRA Part 215 Locomotive and Car Compliance Training Seminar
Nov. 17-19, Indianapolis, Indiana
ASLRRA has partnered with The Indiana Rail Road Company (INRD) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to offer a Locomotive and Car Compliance Training Seminar for short line railroads. Intended for short line railroad chief mechanical officers, shop foremen and inspectors, this three-day training seminar will include 2-and-a-half days of classroom instruction and one half day of hands-on field training covering compliance requirements of locomotives and railcars. FRA subject matter experts will review CFR Parts 215, 229 and 232 from a mechanical employee’s perspective and discuss common defects found throughout the industry and recommended actions for compliance.
Click here to see additional upcoming seminars as well as event details and online registration and hotel booking links.
Both the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) are accepting applications for their respective rail grant programs.
MaineDOT is accepting applications for its Industrial Rail Access Program (IRAP). Applications are due by noon on Oct. 1.
According to MaineDOT, the purpose of IRAP is to “stimulate economic and employment growth through generation of new or expanded freight rail service and transportation efficiencies to Maine businesses as well as to enhance intermodal transportation in the state.”
Approximately $2 million will go to projects that expand freight-rail service, improve transportation efficiency and support statewide economic development. Projects require a minimum 50/50 funding match.
Find applications and program requirements on MaineDOT’s IRAP page.
PennDOT is accepting applications for both its Rail Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP) and Rail Freight Assistance Program (RFAP). The application period closes Aug. 28 at 4 p.m.
Both programs support economic development by supporting maintenance and expansion of rail freight service. Up to $41 million in funding is available. Learn about the programs at PennDOT’s Rail Freight and Grants page or access the PennDOT eGrant portal here.
The Ohio Rail Development Commission (Rail Commission) approved grant funding for several projects at its recent meeting held on July 24, 2026, in Columbus. This grant funding will assist four projects across Ohio with improvements such as needed rail access as well as critical repairs to existing rail infrastructure. In total, the approximately $1.4 million in grant assistance approved by the Rail Commission will result in greater than $350 million in rail infrastructure investment around the state. In addition, the Commission also approved the extension of an operating lease of 25 years for the Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road, a member of ASLRRA, on the state-owned Panhandle rail line.
ASLRRA member Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad is among the grant recipients.
Crystal Gitchell and intern Levente Toth attended the closing ceremony for Toth and other participants in The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) internship program. ASLRRA regularly hosts interns through the TFAS program, and this year the Association received an award in recognition of its participation as a host.
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.
