ASLRRA Honors Two Individuals for Exceptional Impact on Railroad Safety 

ASLRRA

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has selected Matthew Lane, General Manager, Pioneer Valley Railroad, as the 2025 Safety Person of the Year, and Herman Crosson, Chief Safety & Compliance Officer, Anacostia Rail Holdings Company as the 2025 Safety Professional of the Year.

These awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated consistent and committed leadership in safety on their railroad, holding their peers accountable to each other. The Safety Professional recipient must produce demonstrable results in safety as a member of the leadership team, while the Safety Person recipient motivates others to perform safely by example, regardless of their position. Both spend significant time off-duty providing safety awareness and other social services in their communities. 

 “Operating safely, being your brother’s keeper, is a cornerstone of the short line railroad ethos,” said Chuck Baker, President, ASLRRA. “Making sure everyone gets home safely every night takes a concerted effort by railroad professionals to build a work culture that puts safe practices at the forefront of operations. Safety Person of the Year Matt Lane and Safety Professional of the Year Herman Crosson have consistently demonstrated this commitment. They are collaborative leaders who work with their teams to improve safety, emphasizing feedback, transparency and trust. We look forward to honoring them in front of their industry peers at our upcoming Annual Conference.” 

Safety Person of the Year – Matthew Lane, General Manager, Pioneer Valley Railroad Company 

Matthew Lane does not take a wait-and-see approach to safety at the Pioneer Valley Railroad (PVRR). As the PVRR’s General Manager, he actively looks for ways to improve safety, working with management at parent company Pinsly Railroad Company and general managers at other Pinsly railroads on safety programs while continuously collaborating with his PVRR team to improve day-to-day operations. 

Matthew Lane

“Matt is a pro-active leader, always looking around the bend to identify issues before they arise,” said Ryan Ratledge, CEO, Pinsly Railroad Company. “He does an excellent job communicating with the team and giving all the employees an opportunity to collaborate on safety-related topics, asking for feedback and soliciting suggestions. Matt’s leadership style and focus on safety creates a top-tiered safety culture at PVRR.” 

Lane holds monthly safety meetings with PVRR employees, focusing on the status of unsafe condition reports, conducting root-cause analysis of issues and discussing industry-wide safety alerts and safety preparedness. He recognizes employees for prioritizing safety and regularly seeks their input on safety-related topics. Lane also helped organize emergency responder training across all Pinsly railroads that involved local fire and police departments and railroad customers and contractors. After that training, Lane worked to provide guidance and templates to benefit the entire organization. 

Building that sense of trust and camaraderie beyond the railroad is also important to Lane. He organized a community service project with nine individuals from PVRR and Pinsly subsidiary Railroad Distribution Services (RDS), preparing and serving meals at the Westfield Soup Kitchen. Lane has also traveled to El Progresso, Honduras to help build schools in low-income communities with the organization ChildHope. 

Safety Professional of the Year – Herman Crosson, Chief Safety & Compliance Officer, Anacostia Rail Holdings Company 

As the chief safety officer at Anacostia Rail holdings, Herman Crosson is responsible for day-to-day safe operations, working directly with individuals on policies and processes, seeking continuous improvement in safety performance and safety culture across all of Anacostia’s properties. 

Characterized as “a true people person,” Crosson builds relationships to help foster safety communication and safe behavior. He is known to be approachable, respectful

Herman Crosson

and open to others’ feedback. He emphasizes open communication and will go out of his way to research questions if he cannot immediately provide an answer. As a career railroader who got his start as a freight conductor, engineer and later road foreman, Crosson not only understands what safety performance is at different levels, he can relate to team members who face the same hazards he once faced. 

Crosson holds periodic safety forums with Anacostia team members to discuss safety and safety success. He also puts the needs of the organization first, making sure everyone at all levels has the information, tools and training to achieve safety goals. To further encourage safe practices, Crosson has started the Safety Recognition Program to honor those who have demonstrated safety leadership at their locations. 

“Herman is an excellent leader and communicator, traits that were honed during his many years of service in the military. His steadfast dedication to a quality safety process is much needed in the short line industry. Driving a positive safety program with superior results takes effort, commitment, and dedication, three qualities that Herman excels in. Herman is a genuine person. What you see is what you get from him. This character trait drives positive relationships which enhances his ability to produce positive safety results for Anacostia and the industry as a whole,” said David Hankins, Senior Director of HR, Anacostia Rail Holdings, who nominated Crosson for the award. 

It is the second time that Crosson has received the Safety Professional of the Year Award. He was also honored in 2021. 

For more information on ASLRRA’s Safety Award program, click here.