WASHINGTON — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has recognized a record number of its member railroads for a 2022 Jake Safety Award, as well as for the award “with distinction” for zero reportable injuries.
The ALSRRA announced Monday that 383 railroads had qualified for the Jake Award and 350 for the award with distinction. That is a 130% increase from the 152 railroads so honored when the “Jake with Distinction” award was introduced.
Jake Award winners must perform better than the industry average reportable injury frequency rate for railroads (other than Class I lines, commuter railroads, and Amtrak) based on information submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration.
Some 20 of these railroads are further being recognized with a President’s Safety Award for the lowest injury frequency rate in various per person-hour categories.
“In 2022, the short line industry average incident rate has dropped nearly 5% to a record low 2.01 reportable incidents per 200,000 person-hours worked,” ASLRRA President Chuck Baker said in a press release. “In other words, the bar is higher than ever to achieve a Jake Award, yet ASLRRA members are exceeding that bar at a record rate, including more members than ever before with zero reportable incidents.”
The following railroads will receive President’s Awards at ASLRRA Regiona Meetings this fall:
Lowest frequency rate, more than 500,000 person-hours:
Central Region — Watco Switching Services
Eastern — Consolidated Rail Corp.
Pacific — Montana Rail Link
Southern — Conrad Yelvington Distributors
Lowest frequency rate, 250,000-500,000 person-hours:
Central Region — Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
Eastern — Indiana Rail Road Co.
Pacific — Pacific Harbor Line
Southern — Paducah & Louisville Railway
Lowest frequency rate, 150,000-250,000 person-hours:
Central Region — Red River Valley & Western Railroad
Eastern — Cleveland Works Railway Co.
Pacific — Terminal Switching Services
Southern — Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks
Lowest frequency rate, 50,000-150,000 person-hours:
Central Region — Kyle Railroad Co.
Eastern — New England Central Railroad
Pacific — Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad
Southern — Aberdeen, Carolina & Western Railway
Lowest frequency rate, less than 50,000 person-hours:
Central Region — Rail Logix Ameriport
Eastern — South Buffalo Railway
Pacific — Bighorn Divide & Wyoming Railroad
Southern — Tyner Terminal Railway Co.
The Jake Awards are named for the late Lowell S. (Jake) Jacobson, president and general manager of the Copper Basin Railway, who realized there was no award recognizing smaller railroads’ safety records after the Copper Basin achieved a perfect record in 1993. The program originated in 1995 and was adopted by the ASLRRA Safety Committee in 1999.
The full list of 2022 Jake Award winners is available here; winners with distinction are here. More on Jacobson is available here.
The Class 1 railroads can learn a lot from their short line cousins when it comes to management and operations. The short lines operate with older equipment yet give great and reliable service to their customers, they operate with a very small work force and management yet they do the job with skill, know how and efficency and have a very good safety record as evident by these award given out in the rail industry. They givee great service to their customers and are a dependable bridge traffic from their customers to the Class 1s. and of course many of these short lines are reborn from cast off branch lines that the big railroads consider as redundant or not worthy to keep operating. However these small railroads are able to turn these branch lines into money makers and keep trafficand business moving along and in most cases actuallu create new business and attract new customers. Let’s give these short line railroads the credit and recognition they deserve. Like the small businesses and the Mom and Pop stores, these lines are needed and provide service that many businesses and manufacturers depend on to keep American goods and services coming.
Joseph C. Markfelder
The Copper Basin Railway (reporting mark CBRY) is an Arizona short-line railroad that operates from a connection with the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) at Magma to Winkelman, in 54 miles (87 km) of length. The railroad also has a 7-mile (11 km) branch line that runs from Ray Junction to Ray, Arizona. There was formerly an interchange with the San Manuel Arizona Railroad (SMA) at Hayden. The CBRY exists primarily to serve a copper mine. L. S. “Jake” Jacobson was the President and Chief Operating Officer, retiring in 2020 after more than 30 years in his position. In summer 2006, ASARCO Copper Corporation purchased the entire railroad.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün