International railway company expands to Kansas City, bringing 85 new jobs
Richmond Pacific Railroad commissions upgraded locomotive
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.
Education is one way ASLRRA supports its railroad members, helping them ensure their employees are well trained and well equipped to safely handle the complicated tasks required of short line industry professionals.
Part of ASLRRA’s array of educational resources is the online Learning Management System (LMS), part of the Short Line Training Center. In 2021, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) selected Iowa Northern Railroad’s Education and Training Program application for funding. In collaboration with ASLRRA, Iowa Northern Railroad is developing at least 30 courses to provide essential safety, regulatory, and workforce development training to short line railroads.
The LMS allows short line railroads to access a custom-built suite of industry training programs, available at any time. To date, nearly 170 engineers from 17 railroads in 13 states have been trained on FRA safety requirements, and more than 1,200 employees from 24 railroads are receiving training via the LMS.
LMS courses in development will cover topics including Designated Supervisor of Locomotive Engineers (DSLE), the General Code of Operating Rules (GCOR), Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee (NORAC) rules, Part 215 freight car safety standards, Part 229 locomotive safety standards, Part 232 brake system safety standards and Part 218 blue flag signal display.
Currently available LMS training includes three virtual reality courses, Part 214 roadway workplace safety, drug and alcohol reasonable suspicion, post-accident toxicological testing and ASLRRA’s Part 243 model programs. View a list of courses being offered and those coming soon at ASLRRA's Short Line Training Center website.
The LMS simplifies the entire training process, benefiting employers too. Railroads can enroll employees, assign courses and monitor progression. Railroads can also generate reports and upload employee on-the-job training records to take full advantage of the platform’s ability to facilitate a company’s record-keeping capabilities.
Short line railroads can also utilize mobile locomotive training simulators by bringing the Mobile Technical Training Center to your location. The center is equipped to deliver personalized, instructor-led seminars and locomotive simulator training to railroad employees on site, minimizing staff downtime and eliminating travel costs. The Mobile Technical Training Center can travel anywhere in the continental US and houses two FRA Type II locomotive simulators and classroom space to accommodate up to six students.
In-person training is also provided at Iowa Northern Railway’s Training Center in Waterloo, IA, where attendees have access to four FRA Type II locomotive simulators and full classroom facilities for up to 30 students.
For more information about enrolling in the LMS program or to schedule an online demonstration, please contact ASLRRA’s Sabrina Waiss. For more information or to schedule locomotive simulator training, please contact Iowa Northern’s Mark Vaughn.
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is seeking feedback from stakeholders on the state’s rail plan, with responses due Sept. 10.
The 2025 Indiana State Rail Plan, according to an INDOT website, “lays out Indiana's vision for the passenger and freight rail system, reports existing conditions in the state's rail system, and identifies the highest priority needs for funding within the next several years.”
The rail plan website gives an overview of the plan’s vision, goals and objectives and describes the state’s existing rail system. Individuals wanting to provide feedback can also find a survey link on the page.
The federal Department of Justice has published guidance for federal funding recipients concerning federal antidiscrimination laws.
The guidance notes that entities that receive federal funds must ensure their programs and activities comply with federal law and do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion or other protected characteristics.
A press release discussing the guidance notes the document includes non-binding best practices meant to help entities avoid violations, which could result in the revocation of federal grant funding. Grant recipients, including short lines, are urged to review the guidance to help ensure compliance.
Over 100 House representatives are now cosponsors of the 45G short line infrastructure tax credit modernization bill, making it one of the most strongly supported bills introduced so far in the 119th Congress.
In a press release issued last week, ASLRRA celebrated reaching this milestone, which puts the bill, H.R. 516, in the top two percent of all active House tax bills. Importantly, the Association points out H.R. 516 enjoys bipartisan congressional support, with 68 Republican and 34 Democratic cosponsors.
ASLRRA, its members and other short line freight rail industry stakeholders have been working diligently to increase awareness of and support for this bill, which would modernize the existing 45G tax credit by increasing the per-mile credit cap, indexing the credit to inflation in the future and making all short-line-owned track eligible.
The goal is to have the 45G modernization bill included as part of the next tax bill anticipated to be passed into law during this session of Congress. To help achieve that goal, the Association continues to encourage its members and other rail stakeholders to contact their representatives in the House and Senate to talk about the tax credit, which has enabled short lines to invest over $8 billion to date in track and bridge upgrades.
ASLRRA offers a variety of resources to inform members’ 45G advocacy efforts. This includes a webpage focused on 45G tax credit modernization. In addition, August recess is a great time to invite elected officials out to your railroad or company to better understand the impact of their decisions. It is not too late to schedule. Those who may need assistance contacting their congressional delegation or have questions about advocating for the industry can reach out to ASLRRA’s government affairs team.
ASLRRA’s government affairs team is encouraging members to sign up to receive the new State Legislation Digest, an e-newsletter published by the Association.
The newsletter, which will be emailed twice a month, will track state-level pending legislation relevant to short lines. This can include broadband access, vegetation clearing and tax credits. Newsletter subscribers will see reports related to topics like tax credits. Clicking the report link will show different bills across the country and their current status.
Only ASLRRA members are eligible to receive the newsletter. To subscribe, individuals can log into their member portal and click View/Edit User Profile. Members then go to Communication Preferences and update it by selecting State Legislation Alerts. Those who need assistance should contact Assistant Vice President, Legislative and Regulatory Policy Crystal Gitchell.
Know a company that would benefit from joining and participating in ASLRRA? Please contact Vice President, Membership Danialle Lovik via email or on (202) 585-3443.
Headquartered in Angelina County, Texas, the Angelina & Neches River Railroad started in 1900 as a logging tram and later became a freight lifeline for local industry. They operate approximately 31 miles of track and pride themselves on safety, reliability, and responsive customer service. Points of contact Terry Campbell or Keith Dover can be reached at (936) 634-4403.
Discounted hotel rates for September meetings, including the Eastern Southern Region Meeting and ASLRRA’s focused industry events, the Finance and Administration Seminar and General Counsel Symposium, are selling out quickly. Do not delay in booking accommodations, as the rates will disappear on August 22 and if rooms are available, they will be at standard rates.
Registration rates for all September meetings increase after August 20 – register now for the best rate!
ASLRRA continues to sell sponsorships for its Fall meetings. Sponsorship puts your company in front of key decision-makers before, during, and after the event. Sponsorships are a great way to highlight your company to ASLRRA’s short line railroad members. Click here to view the sponsorship prospectus or contact the Association’s meetings team at meetings@aslrra.org with questions.
The Finance & Administration Seminar and the General Counsel Symposium are co-located with the Eastern and Southern Region Meeting and offer education sessions geared specifically toward short line professionals in the legal, human resources, financial and administrative fields. There are also multiple networking opportunities to further enable relationship building with rail colleagues.
This year, all those who register for the General Counsel Symposium will automatically be registered to receive continuing legal education (CLE) credits. There is also no additional charge for multi-state credit.
Register today for ASLRRA’s Central and Pacific Region Meeting, being held Nov. 3 to 5 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In addition to a robust schedule of education sessions, the meeting will include a golf tournament at the English Turn Golf & Country Club. ASLRRA will also honor the regions’ President’s Safety Award winners. Click here to register. The reduced early bird rate, which applies to golf registration, will end Sept. 24.
Attendees can also click here to reserve a room in the ASLRRA hotel block at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.
Organizations interested in sponsoring the Central and Pacific Region Meeting can click here to view the sponsorship prospectus or contact the Association’s meetings team at meetings@aslrra.org with questions.
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 members’ quarterly account statements are out. Billing or primary contacts should have received an account statement this past week. The statements provide a summary of members’ account activity, including any payments processed and the ending balance owed.
Payments can be made online by using the links in each invoice. Online payment options include credit card and ACH (eCheck). Online ACH payments are a new feature for 2025 and apply directly to the invoice. They can be processed by selecting eCheck in the secure payment portal and following the step-by-step instruction to verify bank information. If intending to pay by mailed check, please be sure to reference the invoice number associated with the balance due.
Members receiving a statement with an ending balance of $0 need take no further action. For questions or a copy of the invoice(s) referenced, please reach out to Vice President, Membership Danialle Lovik at dlovik@aslrra.org.
ASLRRA thanks its members for their continued participation in the Association.
There are only two in-person training seminars offered by ASLRRA in 2025 and both are nearly sold out. Interested individuals are encouraged to register soon to secure their spot in these sessions, focused on railroad accidents and incidents and professional trainer development.
Two seats remain open in ASLRRA’s popular FRA Railroad Accidents/Incidents (Part 225) Training Seminar, which takes place Aug. 26 to 27 in Freeport, Maine. Seminar speakers from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), with ASLRRA Vice President, Safety and Compliance JR Gelnar, will provide attendees with an in-depth review of the section of the Code of Federal Regulations dealing with accidents and incidents. The seminar also features robust classroom discussions of rule requirements and valuable networking opportunities.
ASLRRA’s Leadership Program – Professional Trainer Development takes place Oct. 7 to 9 in Freeport, Maine. This seminar is designed for trainers of all levels and subject-matter experts who want to expand and enhance their training skills. Attendees will learn how to design training using adult learning principles, manage participant engagement and the learning environment, enhance personal presentation skills and develop course materials.
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.
Wi-Tronix, one of the newest Preferred Providers in ASLRRA’s Member Discount Program offers valuable products and services to Association members.
Wi-Tronix provides digital onboard solutions. Short line railroads can use the company’s Violet Edge system to operate locomotives smarter, safer and more efficiently. The Violet Edge solution includes locomotive installed hardware with options for adding video and compliance tracking.
Violet 830 hardware provides real-time locomotive tracking capabilities along with live monitoring of fuel usage, fuel monitoring, and excess idle reporting. The Violet 800 series hardware includes all the functions of the Violet 830 and is also an FRA-approved event recorder (ER), digital video recorder (DVR), and PTC recorder.
For more on Wi-Tronix and a full listing of products 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 Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has approved funding through the State Grade Crossing Protection Fund for safety upgrades at multiple rail crossings.
The Muskingum County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and ASLRRA members Columbus & Ohio River Railroad, Ohio Southern Railroad, and Ohio Central Railroad will install railroad interconnect and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems at five grade crossings in Muskingum County. This technology alerts 911 dispatchers if a crossing is occupied by a train, allowing them to reroute emergency responders who might be on an emergency run.
The fund will cover 100 percent of project costs.
This week, Lauren Schlechte and Amy Westerman attended the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) annual meeting in Los Angeles, California.
Also this week, Sarah Yurasko attended the 30th annual Railroad Liability Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. ASLRRA member Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum hosted the conference.
Above: Last week, Lauren Schlechte (third from right) visited ASLRRA member Little Rock & Western Railway (LRWN). She participated in a tour of the railroad with staff members Madeleine Dierksheide (far left) and Jonas Brock (second from left), staff members from the office of Representative French Hill (R-Ark.).
Short line railroads are seeing a major uptick in union activity on their properties and there appears to be no property that is "too small" for labor organization. What options do carriers have when union organizations approach their employees? And, once the unions have established the right to a union vote with the National Mediation Board, what is the role of the carrier? This webinar will provide answers to all your questions and allow for an open discussion for ASLRRA railroad members to ask questions and share their experiences.
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ASLRRA members who were unable to attend the Association’s most recent live webinars can now access recordings of both by logging in to the On-Demand Webinar Library.
View the July 30 webinar “Strategies to Protect Short Line Interests in a Shifting Federal Landscape” or the Aug. 12 webinar “Railroads in a Turbulent Environment” at any time. Recordings also include the presentations shared by speakers during their discussions.
There are more than 200 webinar recordings in the Association’s online library. The webinars cover a variety of topics, from industry-specific finance, human resources and legal issues to business development, strategic communications and more. Log in to browse ASLRRA’s entire catalog.
Views & News is published by American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Please contact Mariel Takamura, associate editor, with questions or comments.
