In May, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) honored the Belt with its Jake Safety Award for its 2024 performance.

“We couldn’t have achieved this without our safety-minded employees who make the Belt Railway what it is today,” said Assistant Director of Safety Mark Labbe. “Every one should be incredibly proud of their contributions.”

The Belt also will receive ASLRRA’s President’s Safety Award as it topped the list of five Central Region winners with the lowest injury frequency rate for a railroad with more than 500,000 person-hours. 

The additional honor will be presented at a regional ASLRRA meeting in New Orleans in November.

The awards are named for the late Lowell S. “Jake” Jacobson, the former President and General Manager of the Copper Basin Railway. After achieving a perfect safety record for the CBRY in 1993, Jake realized there was no award that recognized smaller railroads’ safety records. 

Since its inception in 1995, the  program has distributed nearly 7,800 Jake and Jake with Distinction Awards to America’s small railroad community.