A record number of short lines qualified for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s Jake Safety Award this year, with 340 railroads earning the “with distinction” honor for having zero reportable injuries for 2023.
Overall, 385 railroads qualified for the safety award program, the industry group said yesterday. Nineteen member railroads will be further recognized by ASLRRA as President’s Safety Award winners for the lowest injury frequency rate in a variety of per person-hour categories.
“‘Safety First’ is the oft-repeated refrain on our nation’s railroads, and it rings true for short lines. Nothing is as important as bringing home every employee safely every day,” ASLRRA President Chuck Baker said in a statement. “Our Jake Safety Award program is one way we honor and recognize short line railroads that achieve exemplary safety records. Based on FRA-reported performance in 2023, a record 385 of our member short lines have achieved better than industry average injury frequency rate per 200,000 person-hours worked, and 340 of those short lines reported a perfect zero reportable injuries. These numbers are impressive measurements of the industry’s safety improvement, reflecting short lines that live the ‘Safety First’ value each day and the industry’s commitment to investing in infrastructure to improve Safety.”
To be honored with a Jake Award, an ASLRRA member must perform better than the industry average reportable injury frequency rate for railroads other than Class Is, commuter railroads and Amtrak as evidenced by Railroad Injury and Illness Summary Forms submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration for each of the 12 months of 2023.
The following ASLRRA members are President’s Award Winners, designated as a Jake Award recipient that posts the lowest reportable injury frequency rate per FRA regulations as measured within the various person-hour categories.
Central Region Winners
Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. Lowest Frequency Rate: more than 500,000 person-hours
Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. Lowest Frequency Rate: 250,000 – 500,000 person-hours
PSC Group Lowest Frequency Rate: 150,000 – 250,000 person-hours
Kiamichi Railroad Co. Lowest Frequency Rate: 50,000 – 150,000 person-hours
Western Rail Road Co. Lowest Frequency Rate: less than 50,000 person-hours
Eastern Region Winners
Consolidated Rail Corp. Lowest Frequency Rate: more than 500,000 person-hours
Union Railroad Co., LLC Lowest Frequency Rate: 250,000 – 500,000 person-hours
New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway Lowest Frequency Rate: 150,000 – 250,000 person-hours
Allegheny Valley Railroad Company Lowest Frequency Rate: 50,000 – 150,000 person-hours
Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad Corp. Lowest Frequency Rate: less than 50,000 person-hours
Pacific Region Winners
Pacific Harbor Line Lowest Frequency Rate: 250,000 – 500,000 person-hours
Terminal Switching Services Lowest Frequency Rate: 150,000 – 250,000 person-hours
Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad, LC Lowest Frequency Rate: 50,000 – 150,000 person-hours
Texas & New Mexico Railway Lowest Frequency Rate: less than 50,000 person-hours
Southern Region Winners
Conrad Yelvington Distributors Lowest Frequency Rate: more than 500,000 person-hours
Paducah & Louisville Railway Lowest Frequency Rate: 250,000 – 500,000 person-hours
R.J. Corman Railroad Co./Memphis Line Lowest Frequency Rate: 150,000 – 250,000 person-hours
Railserve Inc. – Switching Lowest Frequency Rate: 50,000 – 150,000 person-hours
Georgia Southwestern Railroad Lowest Frequency Rate: Less than 50,000 person-hours
The Jake Awards are named for the late Lowell S. “Jake” Jacobson, the president and general manager of the Copper Basin Railway. After achieving a perfect safety record for the CBRY in 1993, Jake realized that there was no award that recognized smaller railroads’ safety records. In 1999, the ASLRRA Safety Committee adopted the Jake Awards, and since then, has continued Jacobson’s legacy of rewarding and drawing attention to shortlines’ high safety standards.
