About NARS

About NARS

We continually raise the bar on educational excellence in the rail industry.

NARS (National Academy of Railroad Sciences) is the leading provider of employee training and certification to the North American rail industry, and is also the training provider of choice for the American Short Line Regional Railroads Association.

Founded in 1988, NARS trains individuals seeking to join the industry, current employees of Class-I and short line railroads and people who work around or with railroad facilities in other industries. Centrally located in Overland Park, KS, a suburb of Kansas City, we are a collaborative partnership between Johnson County Community College (JCCC) and BNSF Railway, one of North America's largest railroads.

We are the standard in railroad training excellence.

We offer more than any other rail industry training resource and stand behind the quality and value of our programs.

We are the rail industry's only performance improvement resource offering all three key elements of high quality, value-added training:

  • The most advanced facilities and equipment
  • The most comprehensive, hands-on, accredited educational programs in a learning environment
  • The most technically-proficient and industry-current instructors

We are committed to the rail industry and its future.

We demonstrate our deep commitment by constantly raising the bar and through flexibility to meet our customers' needs. We know what the industry needs both today and tomorrow from its employees. And, we know what it takes to be competent and safe in any rail position and on any equipment.

We are committed to education excellence.

We have combined the outstanding educational resources of JCCC with our deep industry knowledge, hands-on technical training and state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to provide the best training and value for your investment.

We will always lead the way in ensuring our industry has the best trained employees who get the job done right.

Learn more about the standard of excellence in railroad training.