Ohio railroad among 15 Scenic Train Rides for Stunning Fall Foliage Views
Railroad makes $10k donation to Mahanoy chamber after Community Day train rides
All Aboard the Woodstown Central Railroad
Cando adds multi-purpose terminal to network
Pacific Harbor Line, Cliatt receive Maritime Industry Salute Award
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.
Yesterday evening, the Senate voted to confirm David Fink to lead the Federal Railroad Administration. ASLRRA welcomes Fink’s confirmation.
In a public statement, Association President Chuck Baker said, “ASLRRA congratulates David Fink on his confirmation as Federal Railroad Administrator today. David is well known to the short line industry, having led Pan Am Railways, an award-winning short line railroad. He was an active member of the Association, contributing to safety committees and supporting safety culture across the industry. We are confident he will bring the same practical and thoughtful leadership skills and passionate focus on safety to his new role, leading the regulatory oversight of U.S. railroading.”
Fink was confirmed en bloc with 107 other Trump nominees after Senate Republicans changed the rules to allow most executive branch nominees to be confirmed as a group rather than one by one.
The Association’s newest member offering is a monthly carload index. The Short Line Carloads Report will be included each month in the Views & News e-newsletter.
Using data sourced from Railinc, ASLRRA’s new Short Line Carload Report will include all three of the ways that a carload can travel in the U.S. on a short line: originated, bridged, and terminated. ASLRRA has also included the new category of ‘total carloads handled’ which is each carload handled by a U.S. short line at least once, whether that occurs as an origination, bridge, or termination event.
The report features charts illustrating overall carload trends and their month-over-month percent change. In addition, comparing overall carloads handled, as well as by movement-type, shows August 2025 carload movements down by 3% compared to August 2024 volumes. A table of carloads movements by commodity group show waste, agriculture and durable manufactured goods as the only commodity categories with growth compared to August 2024.
Click here to view the full report with carloads charts. Contact ASLRRA’s Cameron Downs with any questions.
This chart shows overall carload trends and their month-over-month percent change. This data series begins with July 2024 carloads, hence there is no data for a month to month change in that field.
The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has published the October edition of its monthly Question & Answer (Q&A) series. The focus this month is applying for a railroad retirement annuity.
The RRB reminds railroaders that those considering retirement can avoid delays in receiving annuity payments by becoming familiar now with the annuity application process. Individuals can file applications in person or by telephone and mail.
The Q&A also says that applications can be filed up to three months prior to an individual’s official retirement date, and encourages people to file proofs of birthdate and military service well in advance of retirement. The agency lists the documents required to file an application.
As a reminder, RRB field offices remain open during the current government shutdown. They continue to accept new retirement applications as well as unemployment and sickness benefit claims and applications for survivor and disability annuities.
Yesterday and today, ASLRRA staff and members of the Legislative Policy Committee (LPC) participated in a mini fly-in to advocate for the passage of the 45G short line infrastructure tax credit modernization bill and to seek additional cosponsors for the legislation. There were 25 attendees who met with over 55 House and Senate offices.
The Association appreciates all those who participated in this week’s meetings, as many short line industry representatives and stakeholders continue their work to move the needle on this important legislation. ASLRRA and the LPC have organized multiple fly-ins this year, all to build connections with members of Congress and advocate for 45G, support for critical grant programs and short line priorities in the surface transportation reauthorization bill.
ASLRRA member R. J. Corman Carolina Lines recently hosted Representative Russell Fry (R-S.C.) for a visit to the railroad and two of its customers. Joining Fry were State Representative Heather Crawford, who is also Fry’s district director, and Fry’s Field Representative Gerry Shea.
The group visited Vulcan Materials Company and Canfor Southern Pine, enabling them to see how the railroad supports its customers and their communities. R. J. Corman representatives also had the opportunity to speak with Fry and his team about short line policy issues and thank him for his support of the 45G short line tax credit modernization bill. Fry is a cosponsor of the bill.
ASLRRA encourages its members to connect with their elected officials, whether by inviting them to visit railroad facilities, scheduling a meeting with them in their Washington, D.C. offices, communicating via phone or email or even engaging with them on social media. The Association’s government affairs team can help members with many of these tasks. Contact them for more information.
South Carolina Congressman Russell Fry (far right) recently toured R. J. Corman Carolina Lines and visited two of the ASLRRA member's customers to learn about the railroad's impact on business and the local community.
Know a company that would benefit from joining and participating in ASLRRA? Let us know by emailing us at ASLRRA@aslrra.org.
Livewire Aviation is a women-owned utility helicopter company that operates throughout the United States. Livewire Aviation provides aerial saw services for Class I railroads and rights-of-way. They specialize in niche segments of the helicopter industry that require the highest levels of aptitude, discipline and knowledge to safely perform and execute above and beyond the industry standard. They also believe in maintaining an organized and structured approach to flight and ground operations, demanding the highest level of commitment from each team member. Our primary contact is CEO Alonda McCarty who can be contacted at alonda@livewireaviation.com.
The chance to book lodging for ASLRRA’s Central and Pacific Region Meeting at discounted rates will expire Oct. 13. Click here to reserve a room in the ASLRRA hotel block at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.
Click here to register for the meeting, which takes place Nov. 3 to 5. The event will feature multiple opportunities to discuss CRISI grants, as the program notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is expected to be released by the end of the year. These opportunities include open office hours with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) staff members to talk about current or potential CRISI grants, a panel discussion with short line representatives about managing a CRISI project and featured speaker FRA Administrator Drew Feely.
This meeting also features a golf tournament at the Jack-Nicklaus-designed English Turn Golf Course. Click here to register for golf.
Organizations can still become a sponsor of the region meeting. 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’s newest workforce development tool is a short line industry employment video created through collaboration between Association staff, members of the Human Resources (HR) Committee’s Recruiting and Retention Subcommittee and others.
The video features testimony from several short line railroad employees who share what they enjoy about their jobs, describe the many opportunities for lateral and vertical career moves and discuss the ways short lines support military veterans. ASLRRA President Chuck Baker also makes an appearance, offering his thoughts on the short line industry and what makes it such a good fit for many different people.
The video is a resource ASLRRA members can use as part of their own employee recruitment toolkit, to help raise awareness of the short line industry and the opportunities it offers. Special thanks to Joe Chacon of ASLRRA member The Belt Railway Company of Chicago for his assistance with this project.
A video discussing careers in the short line freight rail industry recently debuted on ASLRRA's website. The video was the result of collaboration between Association staff and members, particularly those on the Human Resources Committee.
The unveiling of ASLRRA’s new employment video is the latest step in an effort to tell more people about small railroads and support members’ workforce development efforts. Collaboration with the HR Committee has led to creation of an Industry Employment website that also includes links to a Career Opportunities page and a Railroad Education Providers page. As with the employment video, members are invited to incorporate these resources into their recruitment efforts and share them with interested parties.
The Industry Employment page highlights some of the characteristics of a job in the short line industry and describes the wide variety of railroad jobs available to people with all levels of work experience and education. On the Career Opportunities page, visitors can view lists of participating railroads, organized according to geographic region. Links go directly to a career site managed by the ASLRRA member. The Railroad-Specific Education webpage lists several institutions that offer rail-related programs, including certificates and undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Those interested in being listed on the Career Opportunities page can send their company name, career page link and ASLRRA region, if known, to Mariel Takamura at mtakamura@aslrra.org. Those with other questions can also contact Takamura at the email address listed above.
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, featuring them in a Veterans Day article that would be shared via Association communications, primarily e-newsletter Views & News and social media.
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.
Industry experts in ASLRRA's Member Discount Program can assist member railroads in the preparation and submission of a number of different grant applications at the federal, state and local levels.
As a preferred provider of grant writing services, Colliers Engineering and Design offers discounted rates, industry expertise, and exceptional service to ASLRRA members. Visit ASLRRA’s Member Discount Program page and select Grant Writing Services to learn more about Colliers and other exceptional preferred providers.
Registration is still open for the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Oct. 9 webinar providing an overview of the National Railroad Partnership Program. The program offers grant funding for capital projects related to intercity passenger rail service.
Two other webinars will be presented on Oct. 16 and Oct. 24, with the former focused on safety and major capital projects and the latter discussing benefit-cost analysis and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) considerations.
A copy of the grant notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is available here. Grant applications are due Jan. 7.
ASLRRA Member Discount Program Preferred Provider Colliers offers grant writing assistance to Association members. Click the link above to learn more.
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: Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company (TC&W)
Fiscal Year: 2022
CRISI Grant: $2,103,000
Local Match: $2,103,000 (50%)
Total Project Cost: $4,206,000
This project converted 13 miles of jointed track to continuous welded rail (CWR). For customers, the improved quality of the rail contributed to a decrease in shipping time and decreases in delays due to mainline derailments. Lower maintenance costs also preserved efficient pricing. The project also resulted in removal of one mile of slow orders (pre-project/base performance); improved the point-to-point travel time in the project area from an average of 60 minutes (pre-project/base performance) to an average of 48 minutes; continued the decreased annual tie replacements at 12,000/year; and improved the quality of the rail thereby contributing to improving safety, reducing the potential for costly mainline derailments and decreasing overall maintenance costs.
Notable Quotes
“The Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company (TC&W) provides efficient, effective and vital rail access for greater Minnesota, connecting many MGFA members with major class I carriers including BNSF, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Union Pacific. This unique access allows MGFA members a greater opportunity to participate in both the domestic and world marketplace. As Minnesota’s largest short line railroad, TC&W’s Class I connections also help Minnesota producers achieve competitiveness in global markets, which is essential for a strong agricultural economy.”
Laura Lemke, Executive Director, Minnesota Grain and Feed Association.
JR Gelnar, Amy Krouse and Sabrina Waiss traveled to Freeport, Maine to present ASLRRA’s final in-person training seminar of 2025, Leadership Program – Professional Trainer Development. The group, along with Iowa Northern Railway Company’s Mark Vaughn, helped participants expand and enhance their training skills.
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 South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) has issued an Invitation for Proposals (IFP) for parties interested in purchasing or leasing a state-owned rail line for common carrier freight rail operations.
The proposals can be for purchase of the entire 80.8 mile-long Napa Junction to Platte rail line or for leasing a 20.9-mile segment from Napa to Tyndall. The Napa to Tyndall segment was previously leased to Dakota Southern Railway Company, and the Tyndall to Platte segment is currently railbanked for potential future use.
In a press release, the SDDOT says it is looking for operators that will, in part, support economic development in the state, work to sustain or expand freight rail service and attract new customers and improve service. Proposals are due Dec. 19.
ASLRRA associate business member Railinc announced a collaboration with Duke University’s Christensen Family Center for Innovation (CFCI) to explore freight rail industry solutions, starting with railcar repair billing.
Duke students will take Railinc’s CarLogix railcar repair application and determine ways to apply AI and other technologies to further improve mechanical team efficiency and knowledge sharing. This partnership allows program participants to engage in product development education through apprenticeship style real-world problem solving.
Views & News is published by American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Please contact Mariel Takamura, associate editor, with questions or comments.
