‘Short Line/Regional of the Year’ Nominations Due Today, Feb. 1

Railway Age named Vermont Railway (left) 2022 Short Line of the Year; and South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad (right) 2022 Regional of the Year.

Railway Age is accepting entries for its annual Short Line/Regional Railroad of the Year competition. The deadline is today, Wednesday, February 1, at 5 p.m. ET.

Class II and III railroads are invited to submit entries by February 1 describing outstanding achievement in one or a combination of areas. Those areas include (but are not limited to): turnaround situations; consistent excellence; innovation in operations or maintenance; marketing; customer service; enhanced productivity; community relations; safety improvement; and ingenuity in dealing with the unexpected.

Small roads in the U.S., Mexico and Canada are eligible for an award. Our 2023 honorees will be recognized at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) 2023 Annual Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans, La., April 2-4, 2023. Articles describing their achievements will appear in Railway Age’s March 2023 issue, which will be distributed at the show. Railway Age will work with the honorees to publicize the awards in online and national media.

“‘Grass roots’ best defines the service provided by the entrepreneurial short lines and regionals, which meet local needs and drive economic activity at the local level,” Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono says. “They are critically important first-mile/last mile rail connections and partners of the Class I railroads, which depend upon them to deliver—literally.”

The entry deadline is Wednesday, February 1, 2023.

Complete this form to submit a nomination.

Photos and other relevant material will be gratefully accepted but are not required for entries. If you wish to submit supporting material, please email it to Railway Age Executive Editor Marybeth Luczak, [email protected].

PRIOR HONOREES

2022
• Short Line: Vermont Railway
• Regional: South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad

2021
• Short Line: RJ Corman Memphis Line
• Regional: Lake State Railway

Honorable Mentions:
• Short Line: Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad
• Short Line: Grenada Railroad

2020
• Short Line: Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
• Regional: Reading & Northern Railroad

Honorable Mentions:
• Short Line: Delmarva Central Railroad Company
• Regional: Vermont Rail System

2019
• Short Line: Louisville & Indiana
• Regional: Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern

2018
• Short Line: Lake State Railway
• Regional: Indiana Rail Road

2017
• Short Line: North Shore Railroad
• Regional: Conrail Shared Assets Operations

2016
• Short Line: New Orleans & Gulf Coast
• Regional: Central Maine & Quebec

2015
• Short Line: Palmetto Railways
• Regional: Reading & Northern

2014
• Short Line: Coos Bay Rail Link
• Regional: Arkansas & Missouri

2013
• Short Line: Gardendale Railroad
• Regional: Montana Rail Link

2012
• Short Line: Vermont Railway
• Regional: Indiana Rail Road

2011
• Short Line: Blacklands Railroad
• Regional: Reading & Northern

2010
• Short Line: Greenville & Western Railway Co., LLC
• Regional: Northern Plains Railroad

2009
• Short Line: Pacific Harbor Line
• Regional: Wisconsin & Southern

2008
• Short Line: Twin Cities & Western
• Regional: South Kansas & Oklahoma

2007
• Short Line: R.J. Corman West Virginia Line
• Regional: Florida East Coast

2006
• Short Line: Georgia Midland
• Regional: Buffalo & Pittsburgh

2005
• Short Line: Cedar Rapids and Iowa City
• Regional: Red River Valley & Western

2004
• Short Line: Nittany & Bald Eagle
• Regional: Wheeling & Lake Erie

2003
• Short Line: San Joaquin Valley Railroad
• Regional: Indiana Harbor Belt

2002
• Short Line: Winchester & Western
• Regional: Reading & Northern

2001
• Short Line: South Buffalo Railway
• Regional: Wisconsin & Southern

2000
• Short Line: Arkansas Midland
• Regional: Bessemer & Lake Erie

1999
• Short Line: South Central Florida Express
• Regional: Providence & Worchester

1998
• Short Line: St. Lawrence & Atlantic
• Regional: Texas-Mexican Railway

1997
• Short Line: Livonia, Avon & Lakeville
• Regional: Red River Valley & Western

1996
• Short Line: Philadelphia, Bethlehem & New England
• Regional: Bangor & Aroostook

1995
• Short Line: Cedar Rapids & Iowa City
• Regional: New England Central