The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) on Feb. 26 reported selecting Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) as its 2025 Environmental Award recipient. The award will be presented at the 2025 ASLRRA Conference & Exhibition, to be held April 6-8 in Denver, Colo.
With this annual award, the Association showcases the short line industry’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of freight rail transportation. ASLRRA recognizes a Class II or III that has implemented innovative programs that have reduced the railroad’s environmental impact or contributed to meeting sustainability goals for the railroad and/or their shipper(s).
IAIS, Railway Age’s 2025 Regional Railroad of the Year, “has continually worked to reduce its environmental footprint in its rail yards and in its offices, but the opening of the Renewable Energy Center catapulted their drive to be good environmental stewards to the next level,” ASLRRA said of its 2025 Environmental Award winner. “Having the good fortune to be operating in the heart of one of the best wind resource areas in North America, the company identified Newton, Iowa, as the opportune place to build a facility that would service the growth and repair of wind farms across the state.”
According to the Association, the Renewable Energy Center will allow the IAIS to serve new construction and replacement programs, a fiberglass blade manufacturer and a turbines tower all located within one mile of the new facility. Additionally, the Center will provide a custom transloading and storage solution for wind energy components, and offer connections to every Class I railroad operating in North America.
Providing a rail shipping option for manufacturers and suppliers also reduces the dependence on trucks to move heavy goods over long distances and reducing congestion, particulate and emissions pollution, and taxpayer-funded roadway repair, ASLRRA pointed out. Groundbreaking for the 25-acre Renewable Energy Center took place in May 2024 and construction was completed in December. The facility, through IAIS, offers connections to all six Class I’s, providing shippers additional flexibility in seeking nearby ports for in-bound shipments, factories for domestic manufacturing, and different route options as needed, the Association noted.
“Rail is the most environmentally friendly way to move freight over land,” ASLRRA President Chuck Baker said. “Rail also can move unique and oversized components, such as wind turbine blades that are more than 170 feet in length, safely and reliably, and importantly, not on public roadways. “The IAIS has long been a leader in considering their environmental impact on the communities they serve. Its Renewable Energy Center provides a triple beneficial impact for their customers and local economies. It supports a growing industry that provides alternative low emission sources of energy, adding skilled local jobs in the renewable energy sector; it provides safe and efficient access to the entire North American market for manufacturers; and it delivers all of this with low emissions in the heartland of our country.”
Sierra Northern Railway earned ASLRRA’s 2024 Environmental Award.
In related news, ASLRRA recently named Matthew Lane, General Manager of Pioneer Valley Railroad, as 2025 Safety Person of the Year; Herman Crosson, Chief Safety and Compliance Officer at Anacostia Rail Holdings, as 2025 Safety Professional of the Year, and Edwin “Ed” McKechnie for the 2025 Schlosser Distinguished Service Award. All will receive their awards at the ASLRRA Conference & Exhibition in Denver. Railway Age will also present IAIS with its Regional Railroad of the Year Award at the Denver event.
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