Press Releases

Mort Fuller Awarded ASLRRA's Highest Honor

NASHVILLE, TN – April 11, 2018 – The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) recognized Mr. Mortimer "Mort" Fuller III for his 40 years of service to the short line industry. 

 

 

ASLRRA 2018 CONNECTIONS Delivers Unparalleled Education and Networking Opportunities

NASHVILLE, TN – April 11, 2018 – The short line industry gathered in near-record breaking numbers this week at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s 2018 CONNECTIONS Convention (ASLRRA), held at the Gaylord Opryland, Nashville, Tennessee.

ASLRRA Honors Individuals for Career Dedication to Railroad Safety

NASHVILLE, TN – April 9, 2018 – The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) today honored two outstanding individuals for their career commitment to safety compliance and culture at the 2018 CONNECTIONS Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

ASLRRA Chair Urges Congress to Make 45G Tax Credit Permanent

WASHINGTON DC – March 14, 2018 – Today, Judy Petry, Chair of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) and President of Farmrail, a 349-mile short line railroad in Oklahoma, testified before the House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee on the subject of “Post Tax Reform Evaluation of Recently Expired Tax Provisions.” Petry urged the Subcommittee to make permanent the short line railroad 45G tax credit, one of the most heavily supported pieces of stand-alone tax legislation in this session of Congress with 256 bi-partisan co-sponsors in the House (HR 721).

ASLRRA Testifies Before Senate Commerce Committee

WASHINGTON DC – March 13, 2018 – ASLRRA Senior VP of Safety and Regulatory Policy Jo Strang testified regarding short line infrastructure needs.

ASLRRA Congratulates Ron Batory

WASHINGTON, DC – February 14, 2018 –– Linda Bauer Darr, president of the American Short Lineand Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), today released the following statement regarding the Senate confirmation of Ronald L. Batory as Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

45G Railroad Track Maintenance Credit Extended

WASHINGTON, DC – February 9, 2018 –  ASLRRA applauds Congressional action that extends the Railroad Track Maintenance ‘45G’ tax credit retroactively through December 31, 2017 as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, signed into law by President Trump.

Darr Calls for 45G Permanency in Infrastructure Package

WASHINGTON, DC – January 18, 2017 – Today, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-hosted “America’s Infrastructure Summit: Time to Modernize,” Linda Bauer Darr outlined three critical priorities for American Short Line and Regional Railroad members in any considered infrastructure funding package.

ASLRRA Welcomes Passage of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

WASHINGTON, DC – December 20, 2017 – “ASLRRA members welcome the tax reform bill passed today and look forward to the economic growth that will be spurred on by this legislation."

Short Line Rail Industry Reaches Fatality-free Milestone

WASHINGTON, DC – November 8, 2017 – The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) today recognizes the significant safety achievement of the industry’s 603 short line railroads – operating for a full year fatality-free.

ASLRRA Looks Forward to Working With Administrator "Skip" Elliott

WASHINGTON, DC – October 6, 2017 – Linda Bauer Darr, on behalf of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), offered the following statement regarding last night’s Senate confirmation of Howard “Skip” Elliott for Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

ASLRRA’s Darr Testifies in Support of Infrastructure Needs of Short Line Railroads

WASHINGTON, DC – October 4, 2017 – On behalf of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s (ASLRRA) nearly 1,000 small business railroad and supplier members, Linda Bauer Darr today participated in a hearing before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials in support of the infrastructure needs of small business railroads.

ASLRRA Chooses Elavon as Newest Preferred Provider

WASHINGTON, DC, October 2, 2017 – The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) announced the addition of Elavon, a leading provider of payment solutions and subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), to its Member Discount Program. Elavon, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), provides secure payment processing to a wide variety of industries, with tailored solutions to meet the needs of each partner.

Bi-Cameral BRACE Act Achieves Majority in Congress

WASHINGTON, DC, July 17, 2017 - Today the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) announced that the Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy (BRACE) Act, introduced in March of this year, has achieved 226 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives (H.R. 721) and 51 co-sponsors in the Senate (S. 407).

U.S. Representative Hollingsworth Joins NRC/REMSA Member R.J. Corman Railroad Services & ASLRRA Member L&I Railroad for Project Tour

JEFFERSONVILLE, IN, July 10, 2017 - On July 10, 2017, Representative Trey Hollingsworth (R – IN09) joined representatives from R.J. Corman Railroad Services to tour a project on the Louisville & Indiana (L&I) Railroad, and discuss pressing rail and manufacturing issues with various rail stakeholders.

ASLRRA Publishes All-New Short Line and Regional Railroad Facts and Figures

WASHINGTON, DC, June 26, 2017 - The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has released its latest version of Short Line and Regional Railroad Facts and Figures, with an all-new format and detailed information on the short line industry.

ASLRRA Publishes Annual Jake Award Recipients

WASHINGTON, DC – June 14, 2017 – The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has announced the 308 railroad recipients of its annual Jake Awards, recognizing above-industry average safety performance during 2016.  To be honored with a Jake Award an ASLRRA member railroad must  perform better than the Class II and III industry average injury frequency rate as reported by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) during the prior year.

ASLRRA Honors Excellence at 2017 CONNECTIONS Convention

WASHINGTON, DC – May 8, 2017 – The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) honored a number of their member railroads for excellence in the areas of Veteran’s hiring and marketing initiatives at its 2017 CONNECTIONS, held at the Gaylord Texan, Grapevine, Texas.

ASLRRA Honors Individuals for Career Excellence in Safety

WASHINGTON, DC – May 8, 2017 – The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) honored two outstanding individuals for their career commitment to safety compliance and culture at the 2017 CONNECTIONS Convention in Grapevine, Texas. Keith LaPorte, Old Augusta Railroad, Safety Person of the Year and Ron Sparks, Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, Safety Professional of the Year.

Small Railroads Call on Subcommittee to Support Regulations That Are Cost and Benefit Focused

Washington, DC – APRIL 26, 2017 -Darr calls for regulations that provide proven safety benefits, cautions against a one-size-fits-all approach.

ASLRRA Launches Short Line Education Fund

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 7, 2017 – Washington, DC – April 7, 2017 – Today the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) announced the creation of a Short Line Education Fund to address industry training and certification needs; communicate and promote the value of short line railroads to decision makers, customers and industry stakeholders; and build a library of industry-specific research, education and training materials.

ASLRRA Supports Your Grateful Nation, Providing Dinner for Fisher House Residents

WASHINGTON, DC - March 24, 2017 -  “We have the utmost respect for the men and women in uniform that defend our freedom every day,” said Linda Darr, President, ASLRRA. “This is our small way of giving back to the families that have given so much for us.”

Railroad Day 2017 a Record Breaking Success

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 7, 2017 – On March 2, 2017 a record number of citizen lobbyist railroaders, suppliers and customers met with their Congressional leaders to identify legislative strategies to grow rail opportunity. 367 Congressional offices hosted meetings for 456 visitors – a record number of participants for the annual event which has been held since 1999.

ASLRRA Applauds Senate Confirmation of Elaine Chao

WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 31, 2017 – Linda Bauer Darr, president of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), today released the following statement regarding the Senate confirmation of Elaine Chao as Secretary of Transportation.

Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy (BRACE) Act Introduced in the 115th Congress

WASHINGTON, DC – January 31, 2017 – The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) applauds the introduction of the Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy (BRACE) Act in the House of Representatives (H.R. 721) yesterday evening by Representatives Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rodney Davis (R-IL), and Dan Lipinski (D-IL). This bill will make the short line railroad track maintenance tax credit (45G) permanent, allowing small railroads to spend more of their revenue rehabilitating infrastructure that serves as a critical transportation connection for local shippers across the country. The tax credit expired December 31, 2016.

ASLRRA Joins AAR, ATA and OOIDA in opposing EPA Renewable Fuel Standard program changes

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 17, 2017