November 12, 2019
R. J. Corman Receives Prestigious ASLRRA Awards for Safety
Photo from left to right: R. J. Corman Central Kentucky Lines Trainmaster Todd Abney, R. J. Corman Director of Safety and Operations Jordan Sparr, and ASLRRA President Chuck Baker
R. J. Corman’s Central Kentucky Lines and Memphis Line are the recipients of ASLRRA President’s Awards! The Central Kentucky Lines won 2 awards for the Southern Region: 1) Most Hours of Injury-Free Operation and 2) Best Safety Rate for 150,000 to 250,000 Man-Hours Worked. The Memphis Line won Best Safety Rate for 50,000 to 150,000 Man-Hours Worked.
The awards were presented today at the ASLRRA Southern Regional Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jordan Sparr, Director of Safety and Operations, and Todd Abney, Central Kentucky Lines Trainmaster, represented R. J. Corman on stage to receive the awards.
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) was founded in 1913 and represents the entrepreneurial owners and operators of short line and regional railroads throughout North America. ASLRRA serves its membership through representation in Washington, D.C., and delivers a wide range of industry services and professional development opportunities. Safety is critically important to the short line and regional railroad industry and ASLRRA’s Annual Safety Awards Program recognizes the contributions and achievements of short line railroads by awarding President’s Safety Awards. ASLRRA's prestigious President’s Safety Awards recognize the outstanding safety records of railroads that have achieved either a 0.0 accident frequency rate, or the best safety rate as measured by the lowest accident frequency rate per man-hour of operation below the industry average. The President’s Safety Award winners in each region are selected based on the previous year’s performance, according to FRA accident/incident reporting data. This year’s award winners were determined based on 2018 data.¹
“The recipients of our President’s Award lead our industry in safety, striving each and every day to value safety above all competing priorities,” said Chuck Baker, President of ASLRRA. “Their impressive performance, with either zero reportable accidents, or the best safety rate below the industry average per man-hour of operations has led the way to record levels of safety performance for the short line industry.”
Ray Goss, President of the R. J. Corman Railroad Company, was also present at today’s regional meeting. Upon receiving the awards, Goss shared the following commendations, “Winning the President’s Awards is such a humbling honor. There are so many great operations out there putting significant safety efforts forth, so being the absolute best in two separate categories shows the tremendous commitment from all those involved, including both our employees in the field and our management teams, [GB1] to adhere to safe operating practices. We are truly committed to making sure that safety is a priority every day. It is great to win these awards. We want to celebrate this recognition and further remind ourselves to be aware of safety during every task, every day.”
¹Information about the ASLRRA and the President’s Safety Awards taken from: https://www.aslrra.org
