Naugatuck Railroad Celebrates 30 Years of Operations
A High-Steaks Rescue: Calf Stuck on Railroad Bridge Gives Ashland Responders No Moo of Thanks
R. J. Corman Supports Railcar Recovery After West Virginia Flood
OmniTRAX expands Phoenix-area real estate portfolio
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 is accepting nominations for its annual Safety Person of the Year and Safety Professional of the Year Awards, recognizing two individuals from ASLRRA member railroads who demonstrate a strong commitment to safety leadership in their organizations. Winners will be honored in person at ASLRRA’s 2027 Annual Conference, which will be held March 14-16 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Safety Person of the Year Award recognizes an employee of an ASLRRA Class II or Class III member railroad who works with management on effective safety programs, exhibits a high degree of safety awareness and contributes off-duty time to activities promoting safety awareness in the community.
A safety person candidate would be any railroad employee at any level, except those considered to be professional safety management employees, whose actions consistently show a dedication to safe performance on the railroad. In other words, a safety person is someone who has multiple jobs or responsibilities, with safety being part of what they do.
The Safety Professional of the Year is open to any professional safety management employee of an ASLRRA Class II or Class III member railroad who is responsible for safety programs, training and the overall management of safe behavior and actions on their railroad(s). In other words, a safety professional is someone whose job is safety on a full-time basis, for example a manager of training, director of safety and operations, safety manager or head of safety and training.
Nominations for both awards are due Nov. 12. Please email Mariel Takamura with any questions about the award, especially if unsure about whether a candidate falls under the Safety Person or Safety Professional category. If submitted under the wrong category, the nominator will be asked to re-submit the nomination using the correct form.
ASLRRA reminds its members still needing to file an emergency escape breathing apparatus (EEBA/EEBD) program that the Association offers an EEBA program template on its Compliance Templates webpage under Part 227 (Hearing Conservation and Emergency Escape Breathing Apparatus (EEBA) Program). Members must log in to access these materials.
As of Sept. 26, Class III railroads are subject to the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) EEBA requirements for employees occupying locomotive cabs on trains carrying specified inhalation-hazard materials. The rule also requires inspection, maintenance, inventory and employee-training programs.
The FRA delayed the original deadline by a year after a petition from ASLRRA and the Association of American Railroads (AAR) documented manufacturer supply constraints. The extended deadline for Class I and II carriers was March 26.
Members with questions about the rule should contact Jo Strang or JR Gelnar.
ASLRRA has filed joint comments with the Association of American Railroads (AAR) concerning the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerning English language proficiency and other requirements for locomotive engineers and conductors.
Regarding issues raised in the NPRM, the comments say that:
For short line railroads, the last point is of particular interest. The comments note that the proposed changes would incur substantial regulatory costs by imposing highly prescriptive new requirements and eliminating railroads’ flexibility to consider various factors for engineer and conductor qualification.
Ultimately ASLRRA and AAR ask the FRA to revise the proposed rule in a manner consistent with the submitted comments before issuing a final rule to amend 49 CFR parts 240 and 242.
A new technical report from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) examines the results of a study of the potential use of oil-free air compressor technology in freight rail locomotives.
Freight locomotives use oil-lubricated, reciprocating air compressors for operation of brake systems. For this study, Ensco, Inc. researchers evaluated traditional oil-lubricated air compressors to compare them to oil-free versions. Oil-free compressors eliminate oil contamination in the compressed air and reduce or eliminate the generation of waste oil.
While there are oil-free air compressors used in passenger rail transit vehicles, the technology is not yet able to handle environmental extremes, such as high temperatures, found in the freight rail industry. The report recommends additional field tests of the technology to further understand reliability and the cost-benefit in the freight rail environment.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) announced it has appointed Marty Schlenker as director of the Office of Economics and Terrence McDermott as senior advisor to the chairman.
In his role, Schlenker will oversee agency analytical functions, including data gathering and reporting and economic and industry analysis. He has held a variety of roles in the rail industry, with experience in data analysis, supply chain and rail technology and rail operations planning.
McDermott has had previous transportation and supply chain experience from the perspective of both the railroad and the shipper. He has also served on the STB’s Rail-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council and National Grain Car Council.
With 34 days until the mid-term elections, the House will remain out of session until Monday, Nov. 9, while the Senate returned this week for what is expected to be its final legislative work period before senators leave to campaign.
The Senate began the week by passing the Protect College Sports Act on Monday in a 77-22 vote. Senate Majority Leader John Thune also filed cloture on the motion to proceed to the Ratepayer Protection Act, which seeks to address energy costs associated with data centers. There was a thought that the Senate may consider permitting reform, but it is now not expected to receive a vote before the elections.
Other measures that may be considered include legislation related to Chinese-connected vehicles, California energy policies, and several pending Trump nominations. Speaker Mike Johnson will also return to Washington this week for a meeting with artificial intelligence (AI) executives.
ASLRRA’s inaugural Fall Super Regional Meeting takes place next week, Oct. 5-7, in St. Louis, Missouri. There is still time to register online, and individuals can also register onsite.
For those who are already registered, ASLRRA has created easy-to-use social media assets here. Use these assets to share your attendee, speaker or sponsor status. If you are tweeting or using social media in St. Louis, don't forget to use the hashtag #aslrrafall26 and tag the Association.
Earlier today, the Association sent a Know Before You Go email to all registered attendees with information about the event and the venue. If you did not receive the email, please check your spam folder. Reach out to meetings@aslrra.org for assistance.
ASLRRA is looking forward to the full schedule of events at the meeting, including General Session speakers U.S. Transportation Command Deputy Commander Army Lt. Gen. Jered Helwig, Class I railroad representatives and short line industry leaders. The Association will also honor President’s Award winners and offer multiple networking opportunities including a Tuesday night reception at Topgolf.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration, speak with suppliers at their table top displays and participate in committee meetings and Sandhouse Sessions.
ASLRRA thanks all event sponsors! We cannot hold our events without the generous support of these member companies.
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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.
Check out the following popular recordings on important regulatory/compliance issues, presented by ASLRRA subject matter experts in partnership with representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration:
ASLRRA’s On-Demand Webinar Library offers more than 200 recordings on a variety of topics. Click here to log in and access the library.
For this inaugural presentation, registration is FREE for ASLRRA members! Only 8 spots remain!
ASLRRA Leadership Program: Crisis Communications Training Seminar
October 27-29, Charlotte, North Carolina
This new training seminar will help railroads prepare for their worst day by developing a communications strategy and working with key partners in advance of an incident. During the seminar, individuals or teams from a railroad will create a Crisis Communications Plan and become proficient in using a Communicators Response Guide to determine the appropriate level of response based on the incident. Training will also address the role of the railroad communicator when Incident Command is in place. Attendees will return to their railroad with a communications plan that they may further refine, implement and incorporate into their railroad’s Emergency Response Plan.
Developed as a new module of ASLRRA’s Leadership Program, the crisis communications training seminar is geared to company leaders who are responsible for driving the external response to an incident on their railroad, as well as company spokespersons and communications professionals.
ASLRRA’s On-Demand Webinar Library offers more than 200 recordings on a variety of topics. Click here to log in and access the library.
ASLRRA members will elect new regional representatives on the Association’s Board of Directors at the Fall Super Regional Meeting.
Voting will take place during each region’s Sandhouse Session. Each full Class II and Class III railroad member will have the opportunity to vote for its regional board representation at respective meetings. As a note, a railroad’s region is based on the physical address provided by the company for its member profile.
Nominees for Central Region Vice President are:
Nominees for Regional Director – Eastern Region are:
Nominees for Regional Director – Pacific Region
Nominees for Pacific Region Vice President
Nominees for Regional Director – Southern Region
Nominees for Southern Region Vice President
The Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) will receive $450,000 in grant funding from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for its hazardous materials (hazmat) training programs for short line railroads and emergency responders.
SLSI received $200,000 through the Hazardous Materials Instructor Training (HMIT) grant program to support train-the-trainer events for those responsible for providing instruction in hazmat regulations for hazmat employees.
SLSI also received $250,000 in Assistance for Local Emergency Response Training (ALERT) grant program funding. This grant will enable SLSI to provide training to individuals resposnible for responding to incidents involving hazmat.
Grant funding allows SLSI to provide hazmat training to railroaders and emergency responders at no cost to them. In addition to training, SLSI can help railroads conduct emergency preparedness, reporting and response exercises (EPRRE) or create a transportation emergency response plan. Click here to learn more or contact the organization at HMIT@shortlinesafety.org with questions.
Last week Friday, in her role as Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) board chair, Jo Strang rang the bell to open the New York Stock Exchange. The event recognized OLI and the 10th anniversary of See Tracks? Think Train Week, a nationwide rail safety education awareness campaign. Chuck Baker also attended, joining the industry and federal partners who were invited to participate in the event.
(L to R) Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) Executive Director Rachel Maleh, Chuck Baker and Jo Strang participated in ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 25. The event recognized the 10th anniversary of OLI's See Tracks? Think Train Week rail safety campaign. Strang, who is OLI board chair, rang the bell. All three are wearing red as part of the day's Red Out for Rail Safety theme.
Photo credit: New York Stock Exchange
Nicole Brewin and Crystal Gitchell are traveling to Charleston, South Carolina this week for the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) State Relations Policy Committee (SRPC) Annual Meeting. The AAR’s SRPC coordinates state-level public policy, legislative monitoring, and regulatory strategies among major freight railroads and short line and regional partners. Topics at this year’s annual meeting include: 2026 Midterm Outlook, 2026 Legislative Hot Topics, Identifying Common Local and Legislative Issues and more.
Earlier this week, Chuck Baker attended the GoRail Presidents Club event in South Carolina.
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.
The Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) can now offer Safety Culture Assessments (SCAs) and other in-person safety culture programs to plant railroads under its grant funding.
Through funding from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), SLSI offers SCAs, follow-up SCAs, technical assistance, leadership development seminars and structured problem solving seminars at no cost to short line and regional railroads. That funding was previously expanded to historic, tourism, passenger and commuter railroads before the current addition of plant railroads.
SLSI is already scheduling SCAs and other in-person events for 2027. There is limited availability for railroads interested in getting on the 2027 calendar. Contact SLSI@shortlinesafety.org with questions or to schedule an event.
Views & News is published by American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Please contact Mariel Takamura, associate editor, with questions or comments.
