G&W, Parallel Systems begin second round of autonomous vehicle tests
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In early September, ASLRRA member Sierra Northern Railway (SERA) announced it was the first railroad in the country to own and operate a hydrogen-powered, zero-emission switcher locomotive. Achieving this goal was a huge undertaking, but if SERA President and CEO Kennan Beard III has any major takeaways for short lines, it is this: Don’t shy away from taking on big projects, and don’t be afraid of hydrogen technology.
The implications of SERA’s achievement are significant. Although they do not move long distances, switcher locomotives often have an outsized impact on local communities. Locomotives in railyards are usually older and louder and their diesel emissions have a negative effect on air quality in nearby population centers.
According to SERA, most switcher locomotives in California use an average of 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year. Converting all the switchers in the state to hydrogen power could mean a reduction in the amount of diesel fuel used per year by over 12 million gallons, equivalent to the amount of fuel used annually by 20,000 light-duty vehicles.
The road to a hydrogen-powered locomotive started over 20 years ago, in 2003, when Mike Hart, CEO of SERA parent company Sierra Railroad, founded Sierra Energy to create clean diesel fuel from waste products. While hydrogen fuel cells were an idea at the time, battery technology was not advanced enough to support a vehicle as large as a locomotive.
It was not until more recently that SERA was able to start development on a hydrogen-powered locomotive. In 2021, SERA received a $4 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop an initial prototype. Partnerships with public and private organizations helped SERA move forward, as did an additional grant award of $19.5 million from the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD).
With these resources, SERA successfully converted one of its Tier-0 switchers to hydrogen power, completing testing earlier this year. The railroad is already working on building three more switcher locomotives and plans to complete that work by the end of 2027. Eventually, SERA hopes to convert its entire fleet to hydrogen power, with an eye to getting more railroads in California and nationwide to join the effort.
“The biggest hurdle we have right now is apprehension toward this technology. My work is to get people to be more open to it,” said Beard. “We [the railroad industry] have been running diesel for the past 80 years. Since the 1940s it’s been like that, and even then it took a while for people to move from steam to diesel. We had the steam versus diesel days and now it could be the diesel versus hydrogen days. I want people to see that this is working and it’s something worth looking at and being receptive to.”
In the meantime, SERA sister company Sierra Energy is continuing work on its FastOx gasification project to produce hydrogen fuel for SERA and other customers. A key detail, Beard points out, is that the process converts waste to energy, and that waste can include railroad ties. Ultimately the four hydrogen-powered switchers and the gasification facility will be in use at SERA’s West Sacramento facility.
For short lines, SERA’s accomplishment and its continued work toward promoting cleaner technology are a testament to the fact that size does not have to be a limitation, though Beard acknowledges that the circumstances surrounding this project are not ones commonly encountered by short line railroads.
“This is out of the norm. We’re in a unique situation where our sister company and our owner have a drive for clean energy, and it matters to us in California partly because of increased pressure to adopt clean energy,” said Beard. “Developing this technology is a path forward to staying in business in the state, but it’s also a path forward to making sure we are industry leaders in clean emissions.”
Although not every small railroad can take on a project of the size and scope of SERA’s, which Beard emphasizes could not have happened without grant funding and the support and expertise of project partners, Beard encourages short lines to embrace challenges.
“It takes a leap of faith to say yes we can do this and jump in and do it,” said Beard. “As short lines we’re innovative and we find a way to make things happen. While big projects can be daunting, I think if you break it down into smaller pieces most short lines can find a way to achieve their goal.”
“We’re nimble. We can make decisions quickly. There’s not as much red tape as there might be with Fortune 500 companies and big Class Is,” Beard added. “So the question is, is there an end goal that makes it worthwhile?”
Sierra Northern Railway unveiled its hydrogen-powered switching locomotive on Sept. 4.
The hydrogen refueling truck for the locomotive. Refueling takes one to two hours and a full fuel load provides 80 to 100 hours of operation.
A view of the inner workings of the locomotive, including the hydrogen fuel cells and batteries.
Sierra Northern Railway sister company Sierra Energy is developing technology to produce fuel for hydrogen locomotives. This is an early prototype of Sierra Energy's FastOx gasification unit that can turn waste material, including railroad ties, into fuel.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has confirmed ASLRRA member Mendocino Railway (MRY) is a Class III rail carrier subject to STB jurisdiction in a decision issued Feb. 26. The STB’s decision was a response to MRY’s petition for declaratory order filed July 2.
After MRY filed its petition, ASLRRA submitted amicus curiae comments in support of MRY, saying that an adverse decision against MRY could have implications for other small carriers, particularly those with limited resources to defend against challenges to their regulatory status.
MRY petitioned the STB for a declaratory order because it has found itself involved in court proceedings where its status as a common carrier is being challenged. Opposition to MRY’s petition argued that the railroad was not a common carrier because it has provided little to no freight rail service over the past 20 years.
However the STB’s decision says “a rail carrier does not lose its status as a common carrier by not providing freight rail service,” adding “the common carrier obligation cannot be terminated or relieved without abandonment or discontinuance authorization from the Board.”
Because MRY had acquired a rail line with a common carrier obligation, MRY also took up that obligation to provide common carrier rail transportation service over the line upon reasonable request. The amount of activity on the line does not matter. The STB also notes it has found no evidence that MRY failed to comply with its common carrier obligation.
The STB also addressed ASLRRA’s comments asking the board to adopt a standard process enabling rail carriers to obtain proof of carrier status in an expedited manner. While the board says it is considering ways to provide this verification to existing rail carriers, for now carriers can seek a declaratory order from the STB to establish their status.
On Sept. 24, the STB issued a response to the industry coalition letter signed by ASLRRA and others asking the board to provide clear and definitive guidance on the scope and application of federal preemption under the ICC Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA).
The response, signed by STB Chair Patrick Fuchs, Vice-Chair Michelle Schultz and Member Karen Hedlund, notes that Fuchs has formed a Policy Review Team to review regulatory burdens. A common theme at Policy Review Team meetings has been the need for more clarity and consistency in preemption.
The board agreed that a policy statement would be helpful and appreciates the coalition members’ agreement on the issue. The board said it would consider issuing a policy statement on preemption by the end of the calendar year.
On Sept. 30, the STB published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to eliminate unnecessary data collection for positive train control (PTC) expenditures and make other changes. The NPRM was a response to a petition filed by the Association of American Railroads concerning this issue and mention of the issue in several comments from AAR and shippers on multiple STB dockets. View the NPRM here, or click here to read the STB’s press release on the proposed rule.
The STB anticipates the NPRM will be one part of a four-part effort to enhance, focus and automate the board’s data collection. Comments are due Oct. 30 and reply comments are due Nov. 13. ASLRRA’s staff is evaluating the rule for its effect on short lines.
A new Safety Bulletin issued by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) discusses a hazardous materials exposure incident where an employee inhaled ammonium hydroxide vapor while inspecting a tank car.
After an investigation, the FRA found that the tank car’s manway cover gasket was secured using a circular pattern tightening sequence as opposed to the star pattern prescribed by the tank car owner. Using a circular pattern resulted in asymmetric compression of the gasket and resulted in an intermittent leak. The tank car passed a pressure test conducted during the loading process so the leak went undiscovered until the incident occurred.
As a result of the incident and the FRA’s ensuing investigation, the agency issued this bulletin to remind stakeholders that pressure testing a tank car may not be sufficient to detect manway cover leaks. The FRA also reminds stakeholders that tank car owners, offerors and other entities publish detailed closure instructions that are available upon request.
In addition, offerors of a tank car containing a hazardous material or hazardous material residue are responsible for certifying such materials are properly packaged, including proper securement of the tank car.
ASLRRA has added this most recent Safety Bulletin to its own online list of industry safety alerts and advisories. View the webpage here.
The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) announced it has relocated its Cincinnati, Ohio and St. Paul, Minnesota field offices. The offices are now housed in federal buildings, within a block or two of their previous locations in leased private spaces.
The offices opened to the public on Sept. 24. The Cincinnati office is now in the John Weld Peck Federal Building, 550 Main Street, Room 1-770, while the St. Paul office is in the Warren E. Burger Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 316 Robert Street, Room 304.
These changes are part of an effort by the RRB and the General Services Administration to identify opportunities to move offices from commercial locations to vacant space in federal buildings. With this initiative, the RRB predicts a savings of about $1.2 million over the next decade.
ASLRRA joined a coalition of organizations in submitting a letter to members of Congress urging them to pass a clean reauthorization of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA 2015). However, the bill was not passed before the act expired, which happened at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The letter noted that allowing CISA 2015 to lapse could have significant implications for U.S. cybersecurity. The law originally allowed private entities to enhance their data and network protection while promoting information sharing between industry and government partners.
The U.S. federal government officially shut down at 12:01 a.m. EDT today after Congress failed to pass a funding continuing resolution (CR). Both the Democratic and Republican CRs failed to reach the 60 votes required in the Senate to pass.
Federal agencies are now activating shutdown protocols. Most non-essential operations will pause, while essential personnel continue working without pay. Essential personnel at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) includes FRA safety inspectors and some employees that work on FRA grants. The article below includes links to agency guidelines for operation during a shutdown.
Health care subsidies, specifically Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, remain the central sticking point in attempts to come to a deal on a CR. Democrats insist on extending the tax credits but Republicans have rejected tying them to the funding bill. Republicans, led in the Senate by John Thune, have already filed to bring their clean CR back for votes later in the week but there’s no clear path to getting the needed support.
ASLRRA’s government affairs team will continue to monitor developments closely.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) and Surface Transportation Board (STB) have published documents outlining plans for operation during a funding lapse, which has occurred because Congress failed to pass a budget or continuing resolution by the end of fiscal year 2025, which was Sept. 30.
Each plan identifies the number of people expected to be furloughed during the shutdown and lists activities that will or will not take place. Follow the links below for more information.
A separate press release from the RRB notes the agency’s field offices will remain open and will continue to accept new claims for unemployment and sickness benefits and new applications for retirement, survivor and disability annuities. Regular benefits will continue to be paid.
The STB also issued a public advisory with information about operations during the shutdown. The STB cautions that most agency functions, such as acceptance or processing of any filings or submissions, will be suspended. The STB's website and email accounts will also be unattended for the duration of the shutdown
Golf makes a return to ASLRRA’s Central and Pacific Region Meeting, with attendees able to network with other railroad and supplier professionals at the Jack-Nicklaus-designed English Turn Golf Course.
Click here to register for the meeting, which takes place Nov. 3 to 5 in New Orleans, Louisiana. A link to register for the golf tournament can be found here.
Organizations can still become a sponsor of the region meeting. A sponsorship offers visibility before, during, and after the event to short line railroads, while different sponsorship levels come with a variety of benefits. Click here to view the sponsorship prospectus or contact the Association’s meetings team at meetings@aslrra.org with questions.
Room block pricing for the region meeting expires Oct. 13. Click here to reserve a room in the ASLRRA hotel block at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.
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 has announced the release of six new mechanical training courses via the Short Line Training Center, all of which were approved by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). These are in addition to the seventh course, Part 214 Supplemental Training, that was released earlier this quarter.
The six new courses comprise two pathways with three modules per pathway. The Part 215, Subpart B - Freight Car Truck Suspension learning path includes learning and assessment modules for nomenclature, train yard inspections and Association of American Railroads (AAR) inspections, while the Part 231 - Freight Car Safety Standards learning path includes learning and assessment modules for boxcars, flatcars and tank cars.
All users of the ASLRRA and Iowa Northern Railway Company (IANR) Learning Management System (LMS) have access to these and the dozens of other learning programs currently available. Users of third-party LMS platforms can license ASLRRA-IANR LMS programs for a fee.
The Short Line Training Center is a collaborative project created by ASLRRA and IANR and funded through a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant. The Short Line Training Center includes the LMS and Regulatory Training Courses plus a Mobile Technical Training Center equipped with two Type II Locomotive Simulators and two additional simulators permanently located at the IANR training center in Waterloo, IA, all of which will deliver essential regulatory, compliance and safety training and materials to railroad employees. A total of 30 online and instructor-led training programs will be delivered during the grant period.
There are hundreds of U.S. military veterans, members of the Reserves and National Guard and active-duty military spouses who work in the railroad industry. ASLRRA is interested in featuring these individuals in a Veterans Day article that would be shared via Association communications, primarily e-newsletter Views & News and social media.
ASLRRA publishes a Veterans Day article every year, generally focusing on the efforts made by members to recruit, hire and retain military members and support veterans and military organizations in their communities. This year, the Association wants to turn attention to the people themselves who have been or are both servicemembers and railroaders.
Employees of both ASLRRA railroad and supplier members are welcome to participate. For convenience, ASLRRA has created a form individuals can fill out and submit for possible inclusion in the article. Click here to view and submit the form. Those who are interested in participating can also contact Mariel Takamura directly via email. Responses are due by Oct. 31.
ASLRRA Preferred Provider Wi-Tronix offers digital onboard solutions, allowing short line railroads to operate locomotives smarter, safer and more efficiently through the company’s Violet Edge system. 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 Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) has approved more than $2.3 million in grants for five rail infrastructure projects in the state. Three awards will go to rail customers to improve on-site rail infrastructure, while ASLRRA member railroads will receive two grants for their projects.
Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway will use its $1.2 million award to rehabilitate a bridge in Tuscarawas County. The 122-year-old bridge connects Wheeling & Lake Erie customers along the Ohio River to the railroad’s main yard in Brewster. Meanwhile, R. J. Corman Railroad Company will receive $497,875 to rehabilitate a portion of track in the St. Marys subdivision.
In this new section, ASLRRA will highlight its members that have received Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grants, showcasing the importance of this funding and how benefits reach beyond the railroad itself.
If your railroad has received a CRISI grant and would like to submit information for this section please complete our online form.
Project Facts
Awardee: Paducah & Louisville Railway (PAL)
Fiscal Year: 2023/2024
CRISI Grant: $29,563,000
Local Match: $26,237,000 (47%)
Total Project Cost: $55,800,000
The project involves upgrading the PAL Paducah Yard and rehabilitating twenty-three bridges along PAL’s 280-mile main line as well as the substantial rehabilitation of PAL's locomotives. The project will help improve operations by reducing delays and increase the safety and resiliency with reduced chance of derailments on a rail line that transports hazardous chemicals. These improvements will also help reduce delays and increase safety and resiliency on a vital freight rail line that contributes to economic activity across 18 rural cities and urban clusters.
Notable Quotes
"Not only is the Project essential to Arkema's ability to continue operations and grow for the future, but collectively the Project is imperative for economic growth, the reduction of the effects of climate change, and supporting resilient supply chains in the region."
Arkema Support letter, Nov. 30, 2022
Crystal Gitchell was in Kansas City, Missouri this week for the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) State Relations Policy Committee meeting, where she represented short line interests.
Last week, JR Gelnar traveled to a meeting of the Federal Railroad Administration’s Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-way Employees and Signalmen (FAMES) Committee in Atlanta, Georgia. CSX Transportation hosted the meeting at its REDI Center. During the meeting the committee reviewed a new software program and cause codes and discussed the reporting process and the timing of reporting.
In October and November Edward Hinsberger, Milwaukee district manager for the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will present an updated version of ASLRRA’s popular RRB overview series, with Part 1 offered live twice.
The series will explore general eligibility, retirement and disability benefits, working after retirement, spouse and survivor benefits, unemployment and sickness benefits and more. Each webinar is scheduled for 90 minutes to allow ample time for audience questions. Each webinar is free for ASLRRA members and $15 for non-members. Follow each link below for more information or to register.
The Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a design-and-build project to convert a boxcar into a mobile classroom. It is part of the SLSI’s Safety Train Systems project to build a Safety Train for in-person hazardous materials emergency response instruction.
The boxcar conversion project aims to transform a boxcar into a 36-student classroom with additional office space and an equipment room. A copy of the RFP, which includes more information about project requirements and specifications, including sample diagrams and photographs, is available here.
Proposals are due via electronic submission by Oct. 24, and any questions about the project must be submitted no later than five days prior to the proposal due date.
SLSI Scheduling Safety Culture Events in 2026
With the new year on the horizon, the team at SLSI is beginning to schedule in-person safety culture and education events in 2026.
The calendar is expected to fill quickly, so organizations looking to have SLSI’s experts conduct a first-time or follow-up Safety Culture Assessment, Leading Forward – Skills Development training or Structured Problem Solving training are encouraged to contact SLSI@shortlinesafety.org soon to schedule an event.
Safety Culture Assessments are meant to enhance the safety culture of railroads. Assessments are voluntary, confidential, and non-punitive and SLSI’s SCA process has been identified as the most robust safety culture assessment model in the U.S. railroad industry.
The Leading Forward – Skills Development course is designed for up-and-coming and experienced railroad managers who are interested in improving their leadership skills, while the Structured Problem Solving course enables an organization to develop and apply problem-solving skills more effectively, helping team members identify and implement innovative solutions to address various challenges.
Progressive Railroading magazine is accepting nominations for its 2026 Women of Influence in Rail Awards.
Organizations can nominate up to four individuals, one person for each of the award’s four categories: leadership, innovation technology and sustainability. Women who work for North American Class I, Class II and Class III railroads and passenger railroads are eligible, as are those who work for rail industry suppliers, contractors, product manufacturers or engineering firms that contract with railroads. This year, rail industry association employees are also eligible.
Honorees will be recognized online, in print and during a virtual award program. Nominations are due Nov. 30. Find more information and a nomination form here.
Views & News is published by American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Please contact Mariel Takamura, associate editor, with questions or comments.
