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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.
In collaboration with the ASLRRA Human Resources Committee’s Recruiting and Retention Subcommittee, the Association has completed another portion of its Industry Employment website: a page dedicated to railroad-related educational opportunities.
The Railroad-Specific Education webpage lists several institutions that offer rail-related programs, including certificates and undergraduate and graduate degrees. Although the page notes that many railroads offer paid on-the-job training for employees, individuals may seek education for a number of reasons, including enhancing job prospects, pursuing career advancement, increasing earning potential or transitioning from a different industry.
The education and employment webpages, along with a career opportunities page, are part of an effort by the Human Resources Committee to raise awareness of the opportunities available in the short line freight railroad industry and support members’ workforce development efforts.
“Sharing industry details with future railroading candidates through the ASLRRA Industry Employment page shines a light on short line and regional railroads and makes important information widely available,” said Lake State Railway Company Director of Human Resources Michael Davis, who is also a recruiting subcommittee member. “As we continue to seek new talent, the combination of the industry employment link and new education page gives our members an important tool to support their recruitment efforts. The education page is a key component and provides future railroading candidates with another avenue to explore by connecting them to educational institutions that specialize in railroading. In turn, the educational institutions posted on the page can share ASLRRA’s industry employment link with their students.”
The schools listed on the page include the University of Delaware, Michigan State University, the University of Texas at Austin and Tuskegee University. Subcommittee members reached out to representatives at each institution to gain permission for their inclusion on the webpage.
The subcommittee welcomes recommendations of other institutions to add to the online list. A member of the subcommittee will be responsible for confirming the school’s participation. Click here to submit a recommendation, including the school name and the relevant program and primary contact, if known.
Last week, ASLRRA sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to request their support for the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program.
As the agencies work on their fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget requests to be submitted to Congress in the coming weeks, ASLRRA urges Duffy and Vought to seek the full $1 billion Congress has authorized for CRISI in addition to the advance appropriations already provided under law.
The letter outlines the critical importance of CRISI funding to small business short line freight railroads, which support nearly half a million jobs nationwide and tens of billions of dollars in economic productivity. CRISI enables short lines to strengthen the supply chain, maintain and improve service to their over 10,000 shipper customers and offer myriad other benefits to local communities, companies and governments.
ASLRRA also urges Duffy and Vought to support continued funding for the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) through the FRA’s Research and Development program.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has provisionally renewed an exemption to hours-of-service regulations requested by ASLRRA members R. J. Corman Railroad Services and Cranemasters and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC).
R. J. Corman and Cranemasters originally requested the exemption to allow employees to use commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) to respond to unplanned events that occur outside or extend beyond the employee’s normal working hours. The exemption enables these individuals to transport equipment used to clear derailed or disabled trains or debris blocking tracks or railroad rights-of-way during events that affect interstate commerce, service, or the safety of railway operations, including passenger rail operations.
In their exemption application, the organizations note a railroad employee responding to an emergency is similar to that of utility service employees in a similar emergency situation. In these cases, utility service vehicles are exempt from hours-of-service regulations.
The exemption was first granted in 2020 and expired on March 4. It is renewed for six months, until Sept. 4. FMCSA is accepting comments on the renewed exemption. Comments are due April 9.
In a letter to staff at the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, ASLRRA, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) expressed no opposition to efforts by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to procure and test operational technology as part of Project Critical-infrastructure Hardening Achieved through Risk-reduction in Informational and Operational Technology (CHARIOT).
S&T’s Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Research (CISRR) Program works with several partners, including PNNL, on Project CHARIOT. PNNL is seeking to procure technology from original equipment manufacturers in the rail and mass transit industries to conduct testing that will help identify cyber risks to critical infrastructure.
In addition to expressing no opposition to the plan, the associations encourage suppliers to coordinate and collaborate with researchers to enable responsible disclosure of any vulnerabilities that are identified.
The letter expresses the associations’ commitment to “the safety and security of our transportation systems and collaborative initiatives, such as Project CHARIOT, that provide an opportunity for the freight and mass transit industries to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities that can be exploited by our adversaries.”
Yesterday and today, a small group of individuals representing ASLRRA member railroads in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania participated in in-person meetings with their representatives on Capitol Hill in efforts to secure additional cosponsors for the Short Line Railroad Tax Credit Modernization Act, H.R. 516.
The impact of the short line tax credit, also known as 45G, has been diminished by inflation since its inception twenty years ago. The new bill, introduced by Representatives Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), would increase the per-mile credit cap, allow for indexing the credit to inflation and make all short line track eligible for the credit.
The 45G tax credit has driven over $8 billion in short line infrastructure investments, playing an instrumental part in enabling small railroads to rehabilitate track and other structures that have often suffered from years of deferred maintenance. Learn more about the tax credit at ASLRRA’s 45G webpage.
H.R. 516 currently has 36 cosponsors, 25 Republicans and 11 Democrats. Participants in this week’s fly-in hope to add to that number. New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania each have one representative cosponsoring the tax credit, but together the three states account for 55 House members.
Join the Effort to Encourage Lawmakers to Become H.R. 516 Cosponsors
ASLRRA members and industry stakeholders do not have to book a flight to Washington, D.C. to rally support for the short line tax credit modernization bill. Encouraging House representatives to sign on as cosponsors of H.R. 516 is an important part of advocacy efforts and can be done by phone or email as well as in person.
The Association’s government affairs team has developed resources to help members with congressional outreach. This includes a letter template individuals can customize and send to their representatives. For help connecting with lawmakers or for information about available resources, contact ASLRRA’s Crystal Gitchell.
Instead of talking business while on the green at a golf course, this year’s ASLRRA Annual Conference attendees have the opportunity to connect indoors, during the Lucky Strike Networking Event that takes place on Tuesday afternoon, April 8.
Suppliers will have the chance to meet with railroad employees over food and drinks, while competing in friendly games of pool, cornhole, foosball and more. Whether snacking, playing or people-watching, attendees of the Lucky Strike Networking Event can enjoy making connections without worrying about what Denver’s April weather will bring.
Class II and III railroad members who are registered for the conference can attend the Lucky Strike event for free, but all attendees must RSVP by adding the event to their conference registration. Those who have already registered can log in to the registration site and add Lucky Strike to their existing ticket.
It is important to note that ALL room block rates for the conference expire TODAY, March 12. Many of the hotels with room blocks have availability for the duration of the conference. Click here to go to ASLRRA’s event lodging page for information and direct links to each hotel.
Those who would like to register for the short line railroad industry’s premier event are still able to do so. Register today to take advantage of all this year’s conference has to offer.
An event as large and popular as the Annual Conference requires additional support from registered attendees who also donate their time to assist in various roles throughout the duration of the event. Volunteering is a good way to interact with the many railroad professionals, suppliers, government representatives and other stakeholders who attend the conference.
Helping at the conference registration desk, where nearly all attendees stop at least once, means being at the heart of the event. Volunteers also direct people to education sessions, answer general questions and help with other tasks. Those interested in becoming a volunteer at the conference should contact volunteer coordinator Steve Friedland.
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 order to help employees of small railroads take advantage of crucial training and education opportunities, ASLRRA offers two scholarships, the Doug Golden Scholarship and the Jake Jacobson Memorial Scholarship.
Doug Golden Scholarships award up to $1,200 for industry-specific training to improve railroad safety and compliance practices and enhance overall operations. Eligible training topics include track, bridge, and signal inspection and maintenance, locomotive and freight car inspection and maintenance, regulatory and compliance training and railroad safety and operations training. The scholarship can be applied toward registration fees and travel and lodging costs.
The Jake Jacobson Memorial Scholarship awards $500 to cover registration for an ASLRRA training seminar. There are less than ten scholarships available to eligible railroad employees and funding will not be renewed once it is depleted.
Both scholarships are open to employees of railroads earning less than $10 million per year in annual revenue. Applications are submitted via online form and are evaluated as they are received, with scholarships awarded on a rolling basis. Individuals can receive only one of each scholarship, and Doug Golden Scholarships are capped at two per railroad.
Click here to view the list of ASLRRA training seminars being offered in 2025. Both scholarships can be applied to these seminars, and those who attended an ASLRRA seminar earlier this year can apply for a scholarship retroactively.
ASLRRA wrote about scholarship recipients’ experiences with the program in last week’s Views & News newsletter. Click here to read the article.
ASLRRA announces the addition of Wi-Tronix to the Association’s Member Discount Program as a Preferred Provider of digital onboard solutions. Short line railroads can use the company’s Violet Edge system to operate locomotives smarter, safer and more efficiently.
The Violet Edge solution includes locomotive installed hardware with options for adding video and compliance tracking. The 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.
With real-time remote access to critical data, operators can monitor locomotive health, manage fuel consumption, and record events to ensure compliance and optimize performance. Proactive alerts help reduce downtime and maintenance costs while improving fleet reliability. As each railroad has unique pain points, Wi-Tronix offers a “base” IoT Platform Hosting Package with each Violet recorder along with “a la carte” packages, including safety, emissions, compliance and maintenance packages. 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.
To help members plan for and cope with emergencies ASLRRA has assembled disaster preparedness resources available on the Association’s website. Railroad and supplier members helped ASLRRA develop essential templates and checklists to assist in the development of response plans that can be put in place and used as training tools before disaster strikes, as well as emergency response tools and resources to aid in the recovery process in the aftermath of a catastrophic event.
Resources on the Association’s Disaster Preparedness page include disaster planning, hazmat response and instructions on accessing an emergency docket, in addition to links to other government websites. ASLRRA members may download materials directly from the webpage linked above. Individuals can also find the Disaster Preparedness page on the Safety & Compliance drop-down list on ASLRRA's home page.
Chuck Baker traveled to Chicago to join industry colleagues in honoring CSX President and CEO Joe Hinrichs, who will receive the Railway Age magazine’s 2025 Railroader of the Year Award at an event hosted by the Western Railway Club.
Jo Strang attended a joint meeting of Operation Lifesaver, Inc.’s Board of Directors and National Advisory Council in Louisville, Kentucky. Strang is chair of OLI’s board. While at the meeting, Strang presented the F. Tom Roberts Award to Operation Lifesaver Authorized Volunteer Bob Crawford from Oklahoma for his work on behalf of the organization.
JR Gelnar, Amy Krouse and Sabrina Waiss joined Mark Vaughn of Iowa Northern Railway Company in leading the Short Line Training Center’s newest class, Professional Trainer Development, in San Diego, California.
Join industry colleagues for an informative webinar, in which speakers will explore the challenges of outdated locomotive control systems that many short line railroads are facing and the advantages of upgrading to modern solutions that improve traction, fuel efficiency, and reliability. Sponsored and presented by subject matter experts from ASLRRA associate member ZTR, the session will discuss:
Attendees will have an opportunity to participate in Q&A at the end of the presentation.
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ASLRRA webinars can help railroads understand employee issues and further ensure employee safety in the workplace. Recordings of these webinars are available at any time through ASLRRA’s On-Demand Webinar Library, with relevant titles including:
Visit ASLRRA’s webinar homepage and log in to view all the on-demand offerings in the Association’s webinar library.
On March 20, Progressive Railroading magazine will host a webinar to honor this year’s 50 Women of Influence in Rail award winners.
The free online event will feature a panel discussion with four of this year’s honorees, as well as a live audience Q&A. All railroad professionals are invited to attend the webinar. Click here to learn more or access a registration link.
Click here for a calendar of industry events.
Views & News is published by American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.
Please contact Mariel Takamura, associate editor, with questions or comments.
