ASLRRA PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE FEBRUARY 2026 ISSUE: The origin of the popular saying “the only constant in life is change” is generally attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who also famously said, “you cannot walk in the same river twice.” The river’s water is always moving and changing. In 2026, the changing water will include the political and industry landscape in which we work. These changes will require short lines to work harder, smarter and more creatively than ever to achieve what is needed to provide the best service to existing customers and grow traffic from new customers.
On the legislative front, the landscape is increasingly challenging as our politics have become more divisive, government policies more unsettled, and headline news more stridently negative. Collaboration is increasingly scarce, even on traditionally bipartisan transportation issues. In 2015, the five-year surface transportation reauthorization Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 359 to 65. In 2021, the margin on the next five-year transportation reauthorization, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), was down to 228-206. In 2025, the margin of victory on most major legislation of substance was only one or two votes.
In 2026, Congress must pass the next surface transportation reauthorization bill, which encompasses multiple issues vitally important to short lines, including the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program. CRISI is the only federal infrastructure grant program in which short lines are directly eligible applicants. Current funding levels for CRISI under IIJA combine guaranteed advance appropriations with less-certain discretionary appropriations decided annually by Congress, but that was only in place from FY22 through FY26.
Reverting to simply authorizing funds and hoping for approval of those funds in the annual discretionary appropriations process in FY27 and beyond would eliminate the stability and predictability that has made the CRISI program so successful in rebuilding reliable, competitive, and safe infrastructure for thousands of small town and rural rail shippers.
Equally important to short lines is a much-needed update of the 45G tax credit. The credit remains a potent tool in addressing the deferred track maintenance that short lines inherited from previous owners, but the credit has been frozen at $3,500 per mile since 2005 and inflation and restrictions on eligible track are eroding its potency. Today’s costs are at least $15,000 per mile for needed upgrades vs. roughly $7,000 per mile when the credit was first enacted. In 2004, the larger tax bill that included the 45G provision was the American Jobs Creation Act, the final version of which passed the House on a vote of 280 to 141. In 2025, the most recent large tax bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill, passed the House by a vote of 218 to 214, and passed the Senate 51 to 50 with the Vice President having to break a tie.
Be it CRISI, 45G, or our other legislative priorities, short lines need to redouble the effort to build the Congressional support necessary to win in a bitterly divided Congress. This year that effort begins by attending Railroad Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 4.
This industry-wide event is the best opportunity of the year to get face to face with Representatives and Senators and their key staffers, helping them understand how important short line rail service is to their state and district. In particular, it is the opportunity to highlight the thousands of shippers that are the actual beneficiaries of successful short line service. Most Congresspeople know these small businesses by name and understand their importance to the local economy, but few understand how much those shippers depend on reliable short line service. Short line and shipper participation in Railroad Day allows us to make that important connection. Ninety-eight of 100 Senators and 376 of 435 Representatives have one or more short lines in their district. We only get a meeting if we have a local constituent attending. In a world where one congressional vote may now make the difference between success and failure, we cannot afford your absence. You can register for Railroad Day on Capitol Hill at http://www.aslrra.org/railroad-day.
As with the political landscape, the rail industry landscape is facing a potentially enormous change related to the proposed Union Pacific/Norfolk Southern merger. If approved, competition, customer service, access and rates will all be impacted. Some impacts will be positive, some negative, some unintended, many unknown. ASLRRA has filed a notice of intent to participate in the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) review process, and we will productively engage and focus on ensuring the transaction adequately addresses any impact on short lines and their customers. To do so effectively, we need ongoing input from every short line on how they view the merger’s impact on their business and on what, if any, conditions they feel are needed to protect their interests and those of their shippers.
ASLRRA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition will be held April 12-14 in Minneapolis, where Federal Railroad Administrator David Fink and BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer will keynote the General Sessions. In addition to offering a wide array of industry education and networking opportunities with rail executives, industry analysts, and government officials, the meeting provides an excellent forum to discuss the pros and cons of the merger with your colleagues.
As with Railroad Day on Capitol Hill, ASLRRA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition is a meeting well worth attending, and we want you there! https://www.aslrra.org/events/conference/ provides registration and hotel information.
