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Due to ripple effects in the airline industry brought on by last week's terrorist attacks and a high number of cancellations, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) Sept. 18 decided to cancel its annual meeting and exhibition scheduled for Sept. 29-Oct. 2 in Anaheim, Calif.
ASLRRA cited several major factors for its decision, including members' travel apprehension and a high probability that an initial U.S. response to the attacks might happen in close proximity to the meeting's dates.

"In some cases, our members' board of directors are prohibiting their executives from engaging in air travel," said ASLRRA President Frank Turner in a prepared statement. "It's quite possible that in the end, cancellations would have been such that we not only would have lost our net income, but actually realized additional cash losses because of the reduced attendance."

In an effort to improve a disappointing situation, ASLRRA plans to offer an American Red Cross donation option to those people who've already paid their registration fees; the registrants shortly will receive a form enabling them to indicate if they wish to donate all or a portion of the fees to the Red Cross' disaster relief fund, or receive a refund.

ASLRRA also plans to accept contributions from those registrants who haven't yet paid their fees but would like to make a Red Cross donation.