ASLRRA expands disaster planning resources for short lines

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has developed a set of templates and checklists to help members prepare in advance of severe weather events, derailments or other disasters that could disrupt their operations.

Developed with support from railroad and supplier members, the resources are designed to proactively assist short lines and regionals in addressing the challenges of weather and non-weather caused emergency events affecting employees, shippers, infrastructure and operations, ASLRRA officials said in a press release.

"Short lines need to be thinking through disaster preparation, response, mitigation and resiliency on the calm days so that they’re ready to respond in a crisis," said ASLRRA President Chuck Baker.

Materials provided so far on the ASLRRA’s website cover disaster planning, hazardous materials incident response and instructions on accessing an emergency docket, as well as links to government websites The site will continue to be updated, association officials said.

In addition, ASLRRA's On-Demand Resource Library offers recorded webinars on topics related to emergency preparation and training.