By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
The Short Line Railroad Relief Act (H.R. 3782) is gaining more supporters on Capitol Hill and in the rail industry.
Introduced by U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) in June, the bill that would provide emergency funding assistance to Class II and III railroads that incur damage from natural disasters. As of Sept. 12, the bill had garnered 20 cosponsors in the House and received the endorsement of nine rail industry stakeholder organizations.
Those supportive organizations are the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA); American Road and Transportation Builders Association; Association of American Railroads; International Union of Operating Engineers; National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association; National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association; Railway Engineering Maintenance Suppliers Association; Railway Supply Institute; and Railway Tie Association.
H.R. 3782 calls for creating a permanent funding program through the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to help regionals and short lines deal with infrastructure damage and other impacts caused by severe weather or other natural disasters. The funds can be used to protect, repair, reconstruct or replace short-line equipment and facilities that the FRA deems to be catastrophic damage caused by an emergency situation, according to the text of the bill.
“It is the federal government's responsibility to make available the necessary resources to rebuild and restore vital components of a community," said Donalds in a press release issued in early June. “It is imperative that we establish a means in which America's short line railroads can receive critical relief in the event of natural disasters.”
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which then referred it to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials.
The Seminole Gulf Railway — which operates in southwestern Florida — expects to spend more than $20 million to recover from a destructive hurricane that struck in 2022. Seminole Gulf Railway The funding program proposed by the bill would fill a gap in the federal infrastructure disaster response framework. Currently, disaster relief funding authority exists at the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration for damage to highways and transit systems, but not at the FRA for destruction on small railroad networks, ASLRRA officials say.
Small railroads generally aren’t eligible for disaster relief funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Beyond small loans, there aren’t any significant federal disaster relief options for regionals and short lines, which have limited resources to deal with these types of events, ASLRRA officials say.
All railroads carry insurance, but regionals and short lines typically can’t obtain coverage for the level of damage that can be inflicted by major natural disasters.
By providing the immediate deployment of grant funding to small railroads, the legislation would also help local communities and small towns rebuild after a natural disaster, ASLRRA officials stress.
The association’s staff members continue to try to encourage members of Congress to support H.R. 3782 by becoming a cosponsor to help advance the bill toward becoming law. Donalds introduced a similar bill in 2022 that didn’t garner enough support or momentum to push through a House committee or reach a congressional vote.
The ASLRRA’s website includes a disaster relief advocacy page that stresses the importance of H.R. 3782 for small railroads. The page features the bill’s key takeaways and a case study on the Seminole Gulf Railway, which incurred damage costing more than $20 million because of Hurricane Ian that ravaged southwestern Florida last year.
