ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE, OCTOBER 2021 ISSUE: In 2017, the previous Administration dubbed the week of June 5 as “Infrastructure Week” as part of an effort to promote its $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Seven times in the following three and a half years, that Administration declared that infrastructure would be the theme of the week, only to see those plans thwarted in one fashion or another each time.
Railway Age has extended the deadline for its annual Short Line and Regional Railroads of the Year competition. Class II and III railroads: Submit your entries describing outstanding achievement in one or a combination of areas by Oct. 7. Don’t delay.
The American Short Line Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has selected Vancer, a maintenance-of-way equipment manufacturer, as its 2021 Veterans Engagement Award honoree.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has recognized four members as 2021 Business Development Award honorees: Iron Horse Resources (IHR), Lake State Railway Co. (LSRC, Railway Age’s 2018 Short Line of the Year), Pan Am Railways, and R.J. Corman (Railway Age’s 2007 Short Line of the Year, West Virginia Line).
The U.S. Senate on Aug. 9 passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill by a 69-30 count. The legislation now moves on to the House, where it could sit for months.
ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE, AUGUST 2021: The New Jersey School of Architecture offers a master’s degree in infrastructure planning. In preparing for his course on infrastructure, Professor Alex Marshall used Google’s Ngram Viewer, which can search millions of books and publications to determine when a word was first used. He found that the word “infrastructure” made its first appearance in French publications in the 1880s in conjunction with railroad engineering.
ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE, JUNE 2021: In May, I was one of four witnesses fortunate enough to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Surface Transportation as it began work on surface transportation legislation. In another hopeful sign, the hearing was held face-to-face in the Committee room, and I am taking it as a good omen that my first in-person appearance in Congress in more than a year was to present the short line industry’s case for a robust infrastructure package with beneficial policies.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) is honoring George Johnson, Jr., as Safety Person of the Year, and Herman Crosson as Safety Professional of the Year.
Anne Canby is stepping down from the OneRail Coalition, after leading the organization since its launch in 2009.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has passed its five-year surface transportation bill authorizing $78 billion for rail, freight, safety and research programs; it is a bipartisan measure supported by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA).
