ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE MARCH 2026 ISSUE: Short line railroading is a growth-focused industry, and ASLRRA’s primary goal is to provide opportunities to promote that growth through engagement, education, training and connections. As this column goes to print, we are in between the two events that offer the very best of those opportunities: Railroad Day on Capitol Hill and ASLRRA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition.
To keep America’s freight moving the rail industry needs strong public policies that help railroads invest in infrastructure, improve safety, and create value for customers. That was the message more than 350 Class I, Class II, Class III and rail supplier industry representatives delivered to 300-plus Congressional offices during a highly successful March 4 fly-in advocacy day in Washington, D.C.
For short lines and regionals, the specific message was about securing the much-needed update of the 45G tax credit to account for inflation, securing continued robust funding of the CRISI grant program, opposing the never-ending effort to increase truck size and weights, and streamlining federal permitting to allow investment grant dollars to be put to work faster. In today’s oversaturated digital world, the opportunity to talk face to face with elected officials about the real-life impact of a 45G track rehabilitation project that reduced derailments for a local shipper or a CRISI project that saved a local bridge from collapsing is truly a golden opportunity.
Nobody tells the story of short line railroading better than the people who live it!
And nowhere is the successful result more apparent than in the growing number of House and Senate co-sponsors of our 45G tax credit update bills. Every one of these co-sponsors has been earned one at a time by an individual short line contact with his or her individual congressperson. Going into Railroad Day on Capitol Hill, we had 149 House co-sponsors and 37 Senate co-sponsors. The numbers ultimately needed will be higher, but even today, both bills are among the most co-sponsored in this Congressional session. Importantly, they are also two of the most bi-partisan legislative efforts navigating the difficult terrain of a bitterly partisan landscape.
Railroad Day on Capitol Hill is an important educational tool, but equally important is a show of force that demonstrates our geographical reach and our ties to thousands of small business customers and local communities that would otherwise be cut off from the national rail network and the U.S. economy. I am grateful for the many short line and supplier members that took the time and effort to make that show as impressive as possible, and hope that even more will do so in
the future.
On April 12-14, more than 1,700 individuals will converge on Minneapolis for ASLRRA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition. This three day event is the most efficient and productive way to learn, to connect, and to focus on understanding the forces driving change in our industry. It is the short line industry’s premier event featuring top tier speakers, more than 40 hours of educational workshops, an exhibit hall with more than 200 industry suppliers showcasing their wares, and dozens of opportunities to network with colleagues and potential
business partners.
This year’s keynotes speakers include Federal Railroad Administrator David Fink, BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer, and Norfolk Southern President and CEO Mark George. The educational workshops will feature nearly 50 breakout sessions led by industry experts on 12 subjects—everything from engineering to finance to marketing to technology to safety, and many more. It will literally cover the bases from A to Z on running a modern short line railroad and will be as good a tool as a short line can get in advancing the knowledge and skills of its workforce and in understanding the newest and best practices being used to build a better short line industry.
Rounding out this excellent program, which ASLRRA staff has worked tirelessly to develop, will be presentations of our annual awards, including the Business Development Awards, our Hall of Fame inductees, the Distinguished Service Award, and Safety Person and Professional of the Year—projects and people who represent some of the best of our best.
While there is always much to discuss and learn at this annual short line event, this year’s meeting will be held in the shadow of the proposed Union Pacific/Norfolk Southern transaction application. It goes without saying that no other 2026 industry gathering will have such a large number of attendees who have a detailed understanding of the regulatory process, are well versed in the details of the proposal, and are stakeholders critically impacted one way or the other by the outcome.
ASLRRA’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition is a unique opportunity for every short line to do a deep dive into the merger issues and to discuss the potential pros and cons with your colleagues. It is an opportunity not to be missed and there is still time to get in on the action. www.aslrra.org/events/conference/ provides registration and hotel information and is constantly updated with late-breaking program information.
See you there!
