ASLRRA announces 2026 President's safety award recipients

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) announced the recipients of its 2026 President’s Awards, which are given to railroads that achieve the most impressive safety records in a given year. Sixteen winners were chosen in three award categories.

Awards are based on safety data reported to the Federal Railroad Administration in the previous year. 

"The President’s Award winners showcase the results of the ‘safety first’ mentality of railroading, practiced relentlessly 365 days a year,” said ASLRRA President Chuck Baker in a newsletter. “I offer a huge congratulations and a thank you to the award winners and all the competitors, and am thrilled to celebrate short line freight rail safety."

For 2026, ASLRRA developed new criteria for award selection, highlighting performance in categories representing the breadth of operations of short line members and grouping eligible railroads by employee-on-duty hours and train miles across the country rather than the prior regional divisions.

This year’s winners are:

Small and Independent Class III: Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad and Fore River Transportation Corp.

Yard and Switching Operations: Indiana Rail Road Co., Terminal Switching Services, Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroads and the Port Terminal Railroad Association 

General Award, Employee-on-Duty Hours: Shenandoah Valley Railroad, Tulsa-Sapulpa Union Railway Co., Southwestern Railroad, Texas North Western Railway Co. and the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis

General Award, Train Miles: Dakota Northern Railroad, Arkansas Southern Railroad, Luxapalila Valley Railroad, Central Railroad of Indiana and Trans-Global Solutions - Cedar Port Railroad