Kissick rejoins Guardian Rail as chief commercial officer
Conrail opens new rail bridge over Passaic River
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 pleased to announce that the 2026 Schlosser Distinguished Service Award honoree is Gary Vaughn. For many railroaders, Gary Vaughn has been a mentor and a vociferous safety champion for the short line industry.
In his work with the Association’s Safety and Training (S&T) Committee, Vaughn advised numerous short line railroad employees. Vaughn played a major role in developing many of the resources now used by ASLRRA members, including the templates for 49 CFR Part 243: Training, Qualification, and Oversight for Safety-Related Railroad Employees and templates for conductor certification and electronic devices.
“Gary has influenced a whole generation of industry professionals,” said Chuck Baker, President, ASLRRA. “His unwavering commitment to safety fueled the creation of critical resources for ASLRRA members, a very active Safety & Training Committee that continues to guide the Association’s work in this area and innumerable contributions to the industry on regulatory issues. Gary’s service to ASLRRA has truly left the Association and the short line railroad industry in a better place.”
The Schlosser Distinguished Service Award is not the first ASLRRA award for Vaughn - he also garnered the inaugural Safety Professional of the Year Award in 2010.
Beyond his service to ASLRRA, Vaughn provided the short line perspective on industry committees that were tasked with guiding regulations including the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC), many FRA working groups that helped develop new regulatory language, and served as the first ever short line chairman of the General Code of Operating Rules Committee.
Vaughn began his railroad career working for the Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W) while attending the University of Michigan. Following graduation and stints at N&W and Norfolk Southern, Vaughn made the move to the short line industry in 1996, first working for RailTex and Rail America in roles such as operations manager, division superintendent, general manager and regional safety manager. In 2003 he joined Watco as Safety Director and began making his mark on the company’s safety performance.
During his fifteen year plus career at Watco, the company achieved numerous year-over-year improved safety records and supported Vaughn’s work to both restructure the safety department and implement workplace safety education and awareness programs. Vaughn retired from railroading in 2019.
The Schlosser Distinguished Service Award, named for former ASLRRA Chair Thomas L. Schlosser, is the highest individual honor bestowed by the ASLRRA, recognizing long term, significant service to the ASLRRA and the short line industry. Vaughn will be honored on Tuesday, April 14 at the ASLRRA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Minneapolis, MN.
Gary Vaughn is the recipient of the 2026 ASLRRA Schlosser Distinguished Service Award. He was recognized for his years of dedication to the Association and its members, particularly with his focus on improving safety and training.
Vaughn will be honored at ASLRRA's 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
ASLRRA’s Short Line Carloads Report for November 2025 is now available. The report details month-over-month changes in carload volume and carload trends and compares carloads by commodity group.
Total carloads handled has remained consistent since ASLRRA’s October report, with numbers remaining at approximately 500,000 a month. The greatest growth in commodities moved has been in waste, manufacturing or construction products and agriculture, while the largest decrease was in petroleum products.
When it comes to comparing carload movement type, overall volumes remain consistent with only a 2 percent increase when comparing September 2024 to September 2025. There was a decrease in bridge movements by 20 percent year over year, but that decrease was offset in part by modest gains in originating and terminating carloads.
The November 2025 Short Line Carloads Report shows total carloads handled has largely remained consistent from July through September 2025.
ASLRRA has filed a notice of intent to participate in the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) review of a forthcoming application to be filed in STB docket FD 36873 for authorization to combine the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroad networks under common ownership.
This proposed major consolidation transaction is of significant interest to short line railroads across the nation. ASLRRA’s participation will focus on ensuring the transaction, as presented to the STB by the applicants or as may be conditionally approved, adequately addresses any impact on smaller railroads and their customers, and supports short line carload traffic growth and enhanced Class I/short line interchange efficiencies; frequent and reliable railroad service post-transaction; and competition across the overall network.
On Nov. 13, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) announced a new due date for materials that were supposed to be submitted during the government shutdown, between Oct. 1 and Nov. 12. All materials are now due no later than tomorrow, Nov. 20.
These materials include pleadings, filings, comments, environmental comments and anything else. Parties wanting further changes to a specific procedural schedule must request an extension in that particular docket. Those who have already submitted documents during the shutdown do not need to re-submit their items. The filing date for all those documents will be Nov. 13.
The STB further notes that it has resumed all agency functions.
The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Switching Operations Fatality Analysis (SOFA) Working Group has issued a new SOFA Alert after a recent accident.
A conductor with three years’ experience fell beneath moving cars while conducting a hump yard operation. He suffered injuries to his feet that required the amputation of multiple toes. Although the working group has not completed analysis of this event, the group published the alert to remind railroads and railroad employees to remain vigilant while conducting switching operations.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers have announced a proposed rule concerning the definition of waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act.
The proposed rule would fully implement the Supreme Court decision under Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. The rule would focus on relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water and revise exclusions for certain ditches, waste treatment systems and more.
According to a joint EPA and Army Corps press release the proposed rule was developed using input from a variety of sources, including public listening sessions and consultation comments from stakeholders.
A pre-publication copy of the proposed rule is available here. Once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, interested parties will have 45 days to submit comments. ASLRRA staff is reviewing the rule for its impact on the short line freight rail industry and intends to submit comments.
Learn more about the issue at the EPA’s WOTUS webpage here.
The House and Senate are in session this week. The government reopened last week after more than 40 days of being shut down, and the House returned to Washington after more than 50 days of recess.
This week, the House is expected to vote on multiple bills and resolutions. In the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is working to schedule votes on the next slate of fiscal year (FY) 2026 funding bills, combining the Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services; Commerce, Justice and Science; Interior and Environment; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bills into one minibus.
Additionally, the Senate Commerce Committee will meet in executive session today to vote on whether to recommend Michelle Schultz for Senate confirmation. Shultz is seeking a second five-year term on the STB. However, STB nominee Richard Kloster is not on the executive session agenda due to paperwork delays.
Schultz’s first term expires Jan. 1, and the STB statute allows members to remain for 12 additional months pending reconfirmation to a second term or Senate confirmation of a successor. If confirmed, Schultz’s second and final term would run through 2030. Kloster’s term, if he is confirmed, will run only through Dec. 31, 2028, as he was nominated to complete an unexpired term of former STB Democratic member Martin J. Oberman, who retired in 2024.
A vote for John DeLeeuw to be named a member of the National Transportation Safety Board and Ryan McCormack to be undersecretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation is also scheduled during the same executive session.
ASLRRA looks forward to honoring Schlosser Distinguished Service Award winner Gary Vaughn at the 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition, to be held April 12 to 14 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minnesota. Vaughn will be recognized on April 14 during the morning General Session.
Vaughn’s award, recognizing his years of service to ASLRRA and its members, is one of several that will be bestowed during the two General Sessions on April 13 and 14. ASLRRA will also honor this year’s Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame inductees, the Safety Person of the Year and Safety Professional of the Year Award winners and winners of the Business Development Award, Green Spark Award and Veterans Engagement Award. Nominations for the organizational awards are currently being accepted and can be found at the links above.
Register today to secure a spot at the early bird rate and join hundreds of short line industry professionals in taking advantage of over 40 hours of education across 12 career tracks, an exhibition hall with over 200 companies and hours of networking opportunities.
ASLRRA also has room blocks in four hotels within walking distance of the convention center. Click here to view hotels and reserve lodging. The Association does not sell or rent attendee, exhibitor or member contact information to outside organizations, nor does ASLRRA contract with outside housing companies or representatives or third-party groups to book hotel rooms. Please notify ASLRRA’s meetings team at meetings@aslrra.org if you receive any solicitations.
Organizations interested in sponsoring the 2026 Annual Conference have a variety of opportunities from which to choose. Click here to learn more, or contact the meetings team to secure a sponsorship.
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.
In an effort to offer visibility to all its members, ASLRRA has created a new industry employment webpage to host career page links for its associate business members, including tourist, excursion, passenger and transit railroads and industry suppliers.
All associate business members in good standing are eligible for inclusion on the page, which lists suppliers and tourist and transit railroads separately. Organizations interested in being included on the page can send their company name and career page link to Mariel Takamura at mtakamura@aslrra.org.
This new employment page joins ASLRRA’s suite of career pages, developed in collaboration with the Association’s Human Resources Committee. These pages include the general overview Career Opportunities page, the Industry Employment page with freight railroad member career links and the Railroad Education Providers page with links to institutions offering rail-industry-related certificates and degrees.
ASLRRA continues to update the freight rail employment page and education page on a rolling basis, whenever the Association receives requests to participate. Those interested in being listed on either page, or those who have questions, can email Takamura at the email listed above.
ASLRRA Member Discount Program Preferred Provider Aon is the exclusive provider of workforce assessments, offering Association members access to discount pricing and exceptional solutions and service from Aon’s Talent Assessment team.
Aon is the world’s leading enterprise solution provider for the most accurate and fair pre-hire talent assessments at scale and has assessed more than one million candidates for North American railroads over the past decade. Aside from the delivery of talent assessments and candidate scores and reporting, other solutions and services available to ASLRRA members include job analysis, test development, predictive analytics/validation, implementation, continuous improvement on assessment performance and analytics to evaluate return on investment.
For more on Aon and a full listing of solutions and services 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 Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is accepting applications for freight rail grants under the Minnesota Rail Service Improvement (MRSI) Program. The due date is Jan. 9.
Through the program, $4 million will be available for projects that help strengthen economic development. Examples of eligible projects include work done on railroad tracks, turnouts, bridges and fixed loading and unloading facilities. Grant money cannot be used for regular maintenance, phased projects or costs related to project design and rights-of-way acquisitions.
MnDOT will hold an informational webinar for interested applicants on Dec. 3. There will also be a question and answer session during the webinar. More information about the MRSI Program is available here. Funding award winners can expect to receive notification in late March or early April.
This section highlights ASLRRA 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: Red River Valley & Western Railroad (RRVW)
Fiscal Year: 2021
CRISI Grant: $6,704,544
Local Match: $2,915,234 (30.3%)
Total Project Cost: $9,620,778
The Red River Valley & Western serves the southeast corner of the state of North Dakota, linking numerous rural agricultural shippers with the national rail system. The project replaced 14.5 miles of old jointed rail with continuous welded rail on between Independence and Oakes, North Dakota. The project has resulted in a safer, dependable rail system that will maintain economic competitiveness for current shippers, and provides the capacity to meet the anticipated future demand.
Notable Quotes
“North Dakota is heavily reliant on railroads for the shipment of bulk commodities from our rural communities to their distant final destinations. A large portion of the grains produced in North Dakota are shipped over 1,200 miles by rail to Pacific Northwest port facilities at Seattle and Portland. North Dakota is therefore keenly interested in a safe, efficient, and reliable railroad network to provide value to the thousands of tons of bulk agricultural and energy products produced each year in our state. Preserving this vital rail network is essential for the economic development and sustainment in the rural communities served by short lines.”
Commissioners Julie Fedorchak, Brian Kroshus and Randy Christmann, North Dakota Public Service Commission
Chuck Baker will be in New York City for the annual RailTrends conference on Thursday and Friday. He will participate in an Industry Fireside chat with Association of American Railroads President and CEO Ian Jefferies and Railway Association of Canada President and CEO Eric Harvey.
Recordings of Parts 1 and 2 of the Railroad Retirement webinar series are available to members in ASLRRA’s On-Demand Webinars library. Part 1 was offered twice, so recordings of both presentations are available. Presentation materials are also available.
Part 3 of the series, which discusses railroad unemployment and sickness benefits, took place today. A recording of Part 3 will also be available in the On-Demand Webinar Library soon.
Visit ASLRRA’s webinar homepage and log in to view all the on-demand offerings in the Association’s webinar library.
Railway Age magazine has opened the nomination period for its Fast Trackers 25 Under 40 awards, which recognize individuals under the age of 40 who have had a significant impact within their organizations or respective fields. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 8.
Individuals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico who are under the age of 40 as of Jan. 1, 2026 are eligible. There is no limit to the number of entries a person or organization can submit, and individuals can nominate themselves.
In a CEO Perspective column for Railway Track and Structures (RT&S) magazine, R. J. Corman Railroad Group CEO Justin Broyles reflects on the relationship between railroads and their suppliers, writing that the view R. J. Corman has toward its clients as strategic partners is one the company expects its suppliers to share.
According to Broyles, suppliers need to understand the nuances of the rail industry, which means “providing products and services that meet rigorous safety and quality standards” and emphasizing innovation, integrity and shared values.
Company culture is also an important part of R. J. Corman’s success, and Broyles explains how the organization’s values help shape its partnerships with both clients and suppliers.
Views & News is published by American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Please contact Mariel Takamura, associate editor, with questions or comments.
