WASHINGTON, D.C., October 29, 2024 — Today, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) celebrates the announcement of the Fiscal Year 2023 and 2024 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant awards. The Association offers its congratulations and appreciation to the Congressional leaders that created and funded the CRISI program, the FRA personnel that administer the program and select the awards, and the short line railroaders and their partners that applied for and will receive grant awards.
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 16, 2024 — ASLRRA participated in the hearing before the Surface Transportation Board entitled “Growth in the Freight Rail Industry", September 16 and 17, 2024. The hearing’s purpose was to gather information about recent trends and strategies for growth in the freight rail industry. In addition to ASLRRA, five member railroads testified to growth strategies being used on short lines. Click here for oral testimony, including those from five short line railroads.
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 11, 2024 — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), representing in the nation’s 600 short line freight railroads, commends Senators Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo and Representatives Mike Kelly and Earl Blumenauer on the introduction of S. 5008 and H.R. 9522 respectively to modify the Railroad Track Maintenance Credit, updating the credit for inflation and allowing expenditures on short line track that has been acquired since 2015 to be included.
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 13, 2024 — Today, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) welcomes Nicole Brewin as the Association’s Vice President of Congressional Affairs. Ms. Brewin brings extensive Capitol Hill, rail and transportation government affairs experience and substantial expertise in influencing policy and legislative initiatives in both the public and private sectors to the position. She will be leading the congressional affairs team at ASLRRA, working with association staff and member short line railroads to pursue legislative support for critical issues facing the industry including investment in infrastructure, and surface transportation and tax policy.
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 22, 2024 — Today, three new virtual reality (VR) training modules have been added to the Short Line Training Center’s online Learning Management System (LMS) - Freight Car Familiarization, Locomotive Daily Inspection, and Class I Airbrake Test & Inspection. These training modules are the first use of VR for the LMS, offering enhanced engagement and motivation for trainees, improved safety and efficiency versus live training, and increased accessibility and scalability for railroads.
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 9, 2024 — Dillon Olvera, President and CEO of the Modesto and Empire Traction Company (the MET), testified today on behalf of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials in a hearing, “An Examination of the California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) In-Use Locomotive Regulation.” Olvera shared the potential catastrophic impact that the CARB rule will have on short lines in California due to the cost of compliance. CARB’s new rule would force railroads to set aside significant revenue in a ‘savings account’ to acquire low and zero-emission locomotives that are not commercially available and not viable at-scale for the industry. This ignores and upends the fundamental business model of short line railroads. Furthermore, the rule is illegal, pre-empted by federal law including the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA) and the Clean Air Act and the Locomotive Inspection Act, and evades any effort to recognize how it will uniquely impact small businesses.
View Olvera's written testimony here.
WASHINGTON, June 13, 2024 – Chuck Baker, President of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), testified today before the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight in a hearing titled “Environmentalism Off the Rails: How CARB Will Cripple the National Rail Network.”
WASHINGTON, May 29, 2024 – The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) today announced a record number of member railroads (385) qualifying for a Jake Safety Award. Eighty-eight percent (340) of the awardees are noted “with Distinction” for zero reportable injuries in 2023. Nineteen member railroads will be further recognized by ASLRRA as President’s Safety Award winners for the lowest injury frequency rate in a variety of per personhour categories.
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2024 – The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association recognized career-spanning dedication to safety today at its Annual Conference & Exhibition. Sam Pederson, Railcar Repairman, Mission Mountain Railroad (MMR) was named Safety Person of the Year, and Albert Manning, Training Program Manager, Florida East Coast Railway (FECR) was named Safety Professional of the Year.
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2024 – Sierra Northern Railroad was honored today for its contributions to environmental sustainability and air quality improvements in central California, an area served by the short line’s intermodal port and transload facility. In 2024, Sierra Northern intends to be the first California short line to put a zero-emission hydrogen locomotive into full testing in revenue service, in a demonstration project funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC).
