Congress is one of the American public’s least favorite entities. Recent polling data puts the approval rating of Congress at 25%. Gallup’s long-standing “Confidence in U.S. Institutions” polling shows that Congress has maintained the lowest confidence rating of the 15 institutions listed since 2010.
The American Short Line Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has honored Jose Jimenez, Machinist, The Belt Railway Company of Chicago (BRC) as Safety Person of the Year, and Travis Herod, SVP of Environmental, Health and Safety at Watco Companies (Watco) as the Safety Professional of the Year.
ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE, JUNE 2020 ISSUE: National survey data indicate that 70% of Americans have not left their homes to visit family or friends, more than 50% have not gone into work, 20% do not leave their home to shop for the essentials of life, and 33% have someone in their household that has either lost a job or took a pay cut because of the coronavirus outbreak. A stunning 39 million Americans have filed for unemployment since early March.
Benjamin James Tarbutton, Jr. passed away on June 9 at the age of 90. Tarbutton had a lifelong career with the Sandersville Railroad Company, his family’s short line railroad business, which is now 127 years old. He worked there for 65 years until the time of his death, serving as President, Vice President and Director.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has selected Tom Lynch as Vice President, Congressional Affairs, completing ASLRRA’s new in-house legislative team.
Editor’s Note: The following editorial by Ian Jefferies and Chuck Baker was originally published on May 8 by Morning Consult, a Washington D.C.-based tech company. – William C. Vantuono
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has announced that Ann Arbor Railroad (AA), Delmarva Central Railroad (DCR), Railway Age’s 2020 Regional of the Year Honorable Mention, the Indiana Rail Road Company (INRD), and Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad (RBMN), Railway Age’s 2020 Regional of the Year, have taken home its annual Business Development Award.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has selected its annual Jake Award recipients, recognizing 295 member railroads for their above-industry-average safety performance during 2019.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has added to its Legislative team Mara Stark-Alcalá, who has been named to the new role of Assistant Vice President, Congressional Affairs.
ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE APRIL 2020 ISSUE: As with every other business in the country, short line freight railroad operations are increasingly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, and it will get worse before it gets better. Those that can in our workforce are working remotely. Operations, dispatching and maintenance workers are heroically doing what they can to make the trains run on time. Many of our customers are under severe duress that affects our train schedules, loadings and unloadings, and ultimately our revenue. As of this writing on March 30, about 15% of our short lines report they have employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are in self-quarantine.
