Kraska to Give Distinguished Lecture on Opportunities, Challenges for Railroading in NWA

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Caren Kraska

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Caren Kraska, president and chairman of the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, will give the Dan Flowers Distinguished Lecture from 5:30-6:15 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, at the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House on the University of Arkansas campus. Her lecture is titled "Railroading in Northwest Arkansas: Challenges and Opportunities."

The Dan Flowers Distinguished Lecture is sponsored by Mack-Blackwell Transportation Center, the Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center, and the Society of Women Engineers.

Kraska holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering with emphasis in transportation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. She was born and raised in New York. Her career includes more than 15 years of experience in the railroad industry.

The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad was established in 1986 as a Class III Railroad operating a 150-mile route from Monett, Missouri, to Fort Smith. The A&M Railroad’s corporate headquarters is located in Springdale; major operations are based there and Fort Smith.

According to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, short line and regional railroads operate in forty-nine states over nearly 50,000 miles of track, or approximately one third of the nation’s railroad network. Short lines are often called the first mile/last mile of the nation’s railroad system and handle in origination or destination one out of every five rail cars moving on the national system. In 36 states, short lines operate at least one quarter of the state’s rail network. There are 23 separate short line railroads in Arkansas that work together with the three Class I railroads to provide Arkansas with a world class freight rail network.

For additional information, please contact Amy Shell at 479-575-6021 or shell@uark.edu.