Commentary

Flexible, Creative and Keenly Aware

ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE APRIL 2020 ISSUE: As with every other business in the country, short line freight railroad operations are increasingly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, and it will get worse before it gets better. Those that can in our workforce are working remotely. Operations, dispatching and maintenance workers are heroically doing what they can to make the trains run on time. Many of our customers are under severe duress that affects our train schedules, loadings and unloadings, and ultimately our revenue. As of this writing on March 30, about 15% of our short lines report they have employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are in self-quarantine.

ASLRRA Announces Short Line Hall of Fame, Inducts Inaugural Class

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) plans to launch the Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame in 2020 to “recognize short line railroad visionaries and stars who through their dedication, commitment and achievement best exemplify the qualities of innovation, entrepreneurialism, perseverance and service that have advanced the short line railroad industry.”

ASLRRA: Yurasko New General Counsel; Reilly Signs On For PTC

Two experienced railroad professionals—Sarah Yurasko and Eileen Reilly—have joined the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) in legal and technology consulting roles, respectively. Yurasko is the Association’s new General Counsel, replacing Keith Borman, who retired after 15 years. Reilly’s company, Global Train Services LLC, has signed on as a consultant for Positive Train Control services.

Baker to Congress: Short Lines Have “The Right Stuff”

Chuck Baker, President of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), on Dec. 5 testified before a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing entitled “Where’s My Stuff?: Examining the Economic, Environmental, and Societal Impacts of Freight Transportation.” Two subcommittees—Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials and Highways and Transit—jointly hosted the hearing.

Weather or Not: ASLRRA Offers Disaster Preparedness Resources

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has developed and provided resources designed to proactively assist its members in addressing the challenges of both weather- and non-weather-caused emergency events affecting employees, shippers, infrastructure and operations.

Short Line Tax Credit Eclipses 2/3 House Support

Sixty-two and 294—these two numbers may seem arbitrary to some, but they’re music to the ears of Short Line Tax Credit supporters.

272 House Reps Support Short Line Tax Credit

One week after obtaining the 60th supporter of the BRACE Act in the Senate, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) recently revealed a high of 272 supporters of the companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 510, calling for permanence of the Short Line Tax Credit (45G).

ASLRRA Unveils PTC CI-BOS Designed for Short Lines

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has unveiled a complete back-office Positive Train Control (PTC)-hosted solution designed with short lines in mind, provided by Herzog Technologies, Inc.

ASLRRA: With Record Support, “Time for Action Is Now” on Short Line Tax Credit

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) recently reached an important mark on the road to making the Short Line Tax Credit (45G) permanent—60 members of the Senate are now on the record supporting the BRACE Act, S.203.

Commentary

Be Prepared for Anything

In 1907, Boy Scout founder Robert Baden-Powell, an English soldier, devised the Scout motto—Be Prepared. He published it in Scouting for Boys in 1908. Upon publishing the Scout motto, Baden-Powell was asked the inevitable follow-up question: Be prepared for what? “Why, for any old thing,” he answered.

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