The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) on Sept. 29 announced that six new mechanical training courses, delivered in two pathways, are now available in the Short Line Training Center’s online Learning Management System (LMS). All six courses have been approved by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) as Part 243 compliant, as each includes required documentation such as an On-the-Job Training (OJT) checklist and exam.
Each of the following pathways contain three modules:
- ASLRRA – Part 215, Subpart B – Freight Car Truck Suspension learning path includes learning and assessment modules for Nomenclature, Train Yard Inspections, and AAR Inspections.
- ASLRRA – Part 231 – Freight Car Safety Standards learning path includes learning and assessment modules for Box, Flat and Tank Cars.
A seventh module released earlier this quarter, Part 214 Supplemental Training, may be customized by a railroad and used to train contractors on railroad-specific on-track safety procedures and rules, rounding out 35 learning programs that are currently available via the LMS to short line railroads, according to ASLRRA.
“The Short Line Training Center is exceeding expectations on its mission of delivering affordable and accessible safety training to short line railroads,” said ASLRRA President Chuck Baker. “The Center meets short line railroads exactly where they are—from online delivery of necessary training to employees and customizable training for contractors, to hosting the mobile training center classroom with locomotive simulators on their property, to applying virtual reality and other modern training techniques. More than two dozen railroads have already signed on, delivering training to more than 1,200 short line employees.”
According to ASLRRA, some courses are available in a standard SCORM format, making them accessible to users of third-party LMS platforms via a SCORM Cloud hosting service. Railroads not using the Short Line Training Center’s LMS may license select programs, such as the interactive Part 214 Railroad Workplace Safety training course, for as little as $50 per person trained.
“Serving the short line industry by providing training that would not otherwise be affordable or accessible to small railroads is truly a privilege,” said Mark Vaughn, Senior Manager Training for Iowa Northern Railway Company (IANR), a partner in the development and management of the Short Line Training Center. “High-quality technical training demands extensive expertise, time, and resources— commitments that can be especially challenging for smaller railroads. The Short Line Training Center addresses those needs by delivering consistent, cost-effective programs and providing streamlined record keeping tools that support safety and compliance.”
The Short Line Training Center is a collaborative project created by the ASLRRA and IANR and funded through a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant. The Short Line Training Center includes the LMS and Regulatory Training Courses plus a Mobile Technical Training Center equipped with two Type II Locomotive Simulators and two additional simulators permanently located at the IANR training center in Waterloo, Iowa, all of which will deliver essential regulatory, compliance and safety training and materials to railroad employees. A total of 30 online and instructor-led training programs will be delivered during the grant period.
