The annual award recognizes an employee of a member railroad “who works with management on effective safety programs, exhibits a high degree of safety awareness, and contributes off-duty time to activities promoting safety awareness in the community,” according to the Association. In other words, a “safety person” is someone who has multiple jobs or responsibilities, with safety being part of what they do, it said.
Lane does not take a “wait-and-see approach” to safety at PVRR, which runs 18 miles from Westfield, Mass., to Holyoke, Mass., ASLRRA reported; he actively looks for ways to improve safety, working with management at parent company Pinsly Railroad Company and general managers at other Pinsly short lines on safety programs while “continuously collaborating with his PVRR team to improve day-to-day operations.”
According to ASLRRA, Lane holds monthly safety meetings with PVRR employees, focusing on the status of unsafe condition reports, conducting root-cause analysis of issues, and discussing industry-wide safety alerts and safety preparedness. He recognizes employees for prioritizing safety and regularly seeks their input on safety-related topics. Additionally, Lane helped organize emergency responder training across all Pinsly railroads that involved local fire and police departments and railroad customers and contractors. After that training, he worked to provide guidance and templates to benefit the organization. Building that sense of trust and camaraderie beyond the railroad is also important to Lane, the Association noted. He organized a community service project with nine individuals from PVRR and Pinsly subsidiary Railroad Distribution Services, preparing and serving meals at the Westfield Soup Kitchen. Lane has also traveled to El Progresso, Honduras to help build schools in low-income communities with the organization ChildHope.
“Matt is a pro-active leader, always looking around the bend to identify issues before they arise,” Pinsly Railroad Company CEO Ryan Ratledge said during the announcement on Feb. 12. “He does an excellent job communicating with the team and giving all the employees an opportunity to collaborate on safety-related topics, asking for feedback and soliciting suggestions. Matt’s leadership style and focus on safety creates a top-tiered safety culture at PVRR.”
ASLRRA also annually recognizes a Safety Professional of the Year. It was announced earlier this month that Herman Crosson, Chief Safety and Compliance Officer at Anacostia Rail Holdings, earned that distinction in 2025.
Both the Safety Person and Safety Professional of the Year awards recognize individuals who have “demonstrated consistent and committed leadership in safety on their railroad, holding their peers accountable to each other,” and “spend significant time off-duty providing safety awareness and other social services in their communities,” according to ASLRRA. The Safety Professional recipient, however, “must produce demonstrable results in safety as a member of the leadership team, while the Safety Person recipient motivates others to perform safely by example, regardless of their position,” it noted.
“Operating safely, being your brother’s keeper, is a cornerstone of the short line railroad ethos,” ASLRRA President Chuck Baker said on Feb. 12. “Making sure everyone gets home safely every night takes a concerted effort by railroad professionals to build a work culture that puts safe practices at the forefront of operations. Safety Person of the Year Matt Lane and Safety Professional of the Year Herman Crosson have consistently demonstrated this commitment. They are collaborative leaders who work with their teams to improve safety, emphasizing feedback, transparency and trust. We look forward to honoring them in front of their industry peers at our upcoming Annual Conference,” to be held April 6-8 in Denver, Colo.
