Benjamin James Tarbutton, Jr. passed away on June 9 at the age of 90. Tarbutton had a lifelong career with the Sandersville Railroad Company, his family’s short line railroad business, which is now 127 years old. He worked there for 65 years until the time of his death, serving as President, Vice President and Director.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has selected Tom Lynch as Vice President, Congressional Affairs, completing ASLRRA’s new in-house legislative team.
U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) recently introduced the Railroad Rehabilitation and Financing Innovation Act (RRFIA).
Editor’s Note: The following editorial by Ian Jefferies and Chuck Baker was originally published on May 8 by Morning Consult, a Washington D.C.-based tech company. – William C. Vantuono
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) announced three Anacostia affiliates—Louisville & Indiana Railroad Company; Northern Lines Railway, LLC, for the seventh year in a row; and Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad Company for the sixth year in a row—as winners of the Jake or Jake With Distinction Safety Awards for strong safety performance in 2019.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has selected the Indiana Rail Road Company (INRD) as the winner of its 2020 Business Development Award, recognizing INRD for its collaboration with Venture Logistics to drive growth in Central Indiana.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has announced that Ann Arbor Railroad (AA), Delmarva Central Railroad (DCR), Railway Age’s 2020 Regional of the Year Honorable Mention, the Indiana Rail Road Company (INRD), and Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad (RBMN), Railway Age’s 2020 Regional of the Year, have taken home its annual Business Development Award.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has selected its annual Jake Award recipients, recognizing 295 member railroads for their above-industry-average safety performance during 2019.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has added to its Legislative team Mara Stark-Alcalá, who has been named to the new role of Assistant Vice President, Congressional Affairs.
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.