ASLRRA Jake Awards honor railroads with top safety records

WASHINGTON – Nearly 400 railroads earned Jake Safety Awards from the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association – including 357 that had zero reportable injuries in 2024.

To achieve a Jake Award, an ASLRRA member railroad must perform better than the average Federal Railroad Administration reportable injury frequency rate per 200,000 person-hours worked at small freight railroads. In 2024, a Jake Award winner must have an injury frequency rate lower than the industry average of 2.31, a reduction from the prior year’s rate of 2.38.

“For short line railroads, there is nothing more important than operating safely. The Jake Award program is an industry bellwether of performance against that goal each year,” Chuck Baker, president of ASLRRA, said in a statement today. “It is particularly notable that the average industry injury frequency rate, based on FRA-reported performance in 2024, has dropped, making it more difficult to achieve a Jake Award. Yet, 394 of our member railroads have notched a frequency lower than industry average, and of these a record breaking 357 railroads reported zero injuries. Zero is remarkable! These results are a testament to the short line industry’s dedication to ‘Safety First, Every Day,’ and our commitment to investing in technology, infrastructure, and continuous training for employees to be ever-safer.”

The ASLRRA President’s Award – which salute railroads that have the lowest injury rate by region and railroad size – was bestowed on 19 railroads. They include:

Central Region
Belt Railway Company of Chicago
Lowest Frequency Rate: more than 500,000 person-hours
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
Lowest Frequency Rate: 250,000 – 500,000 person-hours
South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad
Lowest Frequency Rate: 150,000 – 250,000 person-hours
Burlington Junction Railway
Lowest Frequency Rate: 50,000 – 150,000 person-hours
Arkansas-Oklahoma Railroad, Inc.
Lowest Frequency Rate: less than 50,000 person-hours

Eastern Region Winners
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Lowest Frequency Rate: more than 500,000 person-hours
Union Railroad Company, LLC
Lowest Frequency Rate: 250,000 – 500,000 person-hours
Indiana & Ohio Railway Company
Lowest Frequency Rate: 150,000 – 250,000 person-hours
SMS Rail Service Inc.
Lowest Frequency Rate: 50,000 – 150,000 person-hours
Rochester & Southern Railroad, Inc.
Lowest Frequency Rate: less than 50,000 person-hours

Pacific Region Winners
Portland & Western Railroad
Lowest Frequency Rate: 250,000 – 500,000 person-hours
Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad, LC
Lowest Frequency Rate: 150,000 – 250,000 person-hours
Great Northwest Railroad
Lowest Frequency Rate: 50,000 – 150,000 person-hours
Southwestern Railroad, Inc.
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
Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway
Lowest Frequency Rate: 150,000 – 250,000 person-hours
Aberdeen, Carolina & Western Rwy. Co.
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 former 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 the high safety standards of the small railroad industry.