TranSystems hired Sam Mansour, P.E., as senior vice president and client manager for the company’s passenger and freight rail practice areas. Mansour will be responsible for business development, client service and growth strategies across the West region.
Watco Mechanical Services promoted Marty Riedlinger to vice president of marketing and sales.
Riedlinger will be responsible for marketing and sales for all mechanical repair facilities, over¬seeing the estimating department for mechanical and meeting with corporate customer service representatives.
Riedlinger joined the Watco team in May 2011. He has previously served as direc¬tor of estimating and as a corporate customer service representative.
Anthony Foxx was sworn in as the nation’s 17th secretary of transportation by Judge Nathaniel Jones in a private ceremony at U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters July 2, 2013.
CSX this week will begin an eight-day maintenance marathon designed to complete work that would normally take 18 weeks.
Union Pacific will strengthen Oregon’s transportation infrastructure by investing $8.9 million to install new rail on track between North Powder and La Grande. The project is under way now and is scheduled to be completed this month.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has begun construction on rail safety improvement projects along the North Carolina Railroad’s Piedmont Corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte.
Congressman Andy Harris (R-MD), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, visited the Rhinehart Railroad Construction offices in Fallston, Md., on May 31, 2013. The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) organized the event.
In honor of National Safety Month, New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) have collaborated to promote safety and reduce accidental deaths along the state’s railroad tracks.
The Senate has confirmed Anthony Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., as the next U.S. Transportation secretary by a 100-0 vote. Foxx will replace current secretary Ray LaHood.
Train and engine workers employed by DeQueen & Eastern Railroad (D&ER) voted June 20 to elect United Transportation Union Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (UTU-SMART) as their collective bargaining representative.
Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Edward Hamberger on June 27 told the House Transportation subcommittee on railroads, pipelines and hazardous materials that the billions of private freight railroad investments spent annually on infrastructure and maintenance today provides
Union Pacific has been named a 2013 Best Diversity Company by the readers of Diversity Careers in Engineering and Information Technology for the fifth consecutive year.
Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Edward Hamberger on June 26 told a House Transportation Committee special panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation that billions in annual privately-funded rail infrastructure investments have made America’s rail network vital to U.S. competitiveness in the global supply chain.
The partnership of Crosstex Energy, L.P. and Crosstex Energy, Inc., reactivated its Black Run rail loading terminal located in Frazeysburg, Ohio, on the Ohio Central Railroad (OHCR).
The Black Run facility is a 20-car rail rack with tracking gangways designed to top load multiple products, including light oil condensate and various grades of crude oil, at a rate of 24,000 barrels per day.
“The reactivation of our Black Run rail facility enables us to offer producer customers in the Utica Shale an immediate midstream solution to export their products to out-of-region markets to maximize value for our customers. We are pleased to be at the forefront of moving product by rail in an area where there is a lack of transloading capabilities,” said Barry Davis, Crosstex president and chief executive officer. “Our Ohio River Valley assets continue to provide Crosstex with an exceptional growth opportunity as more wells come on line in the Utica Shale.”
The OHCR is a 70-mile shortline that interchanges with the Columbus and Ohio River Railroad, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Ohio Southern Railroad and Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway. The Black Run terminal, which is adjacent to the partnership’s oil gathering pipeline, will leverage the partnership’s existing tankage and piping, as well as the capabilities of its extensive truck fleet in the Ohio River Valley.
Norfolk Southern (NS) has opened a new Thoroughbred Bulk Transfer (TBT) terminal in Columbia, S.C.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) National Vice President Willard Knight is retiring following a 44-year railroad career.
Union Pacific will strengthen Wyoming’s transportation infrastructure by investing $15 million in the rail line between Rawlins and near Rock Springs.
Union Pacific (UP) will strengthen Oregon’s transportation infrastructure by investing nearly $8.6 million to construct a new siding track on the main UP rail line in Portland between NE 122nd Avenue and NE 162nd Avenue.
Watco Companies, LLC appointed Matt McKenzie to executive vice president and chief financial officer.
McKenzie has been serving as interim CFO since July of 2012. As CFO, McKenzie will continue to oversee the areas of finance, accounting, treasury and investor relations. In addition, he has assumed responsibility for the performance management, information technology and operational analysis teams. McKenzie will support all of these areas in following the Customer First Foundation Principles and will oversee the implementation of all financial aspects of Watco’s strategic plan.
“During the past six years Matt has led many improvements in several facets of our company. As we conducted our search, it became evident that the best candidate for the CFO position at Watco was Matt. We are very pleased and excited that Matt has accepted the position on a full-time basis,” said Terry Towner, Watco president.
McKenzie got his start with Watco in 2007 as senior vice president, chief accounting officer and corporate controller and served as senior vice president finance and corporate controller before being named interim CFO.
Stantec hired Peter Josefchak as heavy rail lead for the US Midwest. Josefchak will focus on expanding the firm’s heavy rail market share, while being responsible for consistency, quality, delivery and profitability of Stantec’s rail business. He will also provide leadership on some of Stantec’s major railway engineering projects.
Josefchak has more than 42 years of experience in the engineering and railroad transportation industries. His background includes 13 years in the railroad industry with Canadian Pacific as a Class 1 divisional operating officer, transportation analyst, transport planner and cost analyst.
He has conducted research on rail construction, privatization and rehabilitation and specializes in negotiating and coordinating agreements with railroads. He has provided rail operations and engineering expertise on projects for clients such as Chicago’s Metra, Chicago Transit Authority, Canadian National and Union Pacific, as well as CSX, Norfolk Southern, Toronto’s Metrolinx and Metro-North Railroad. His project management experience involves all heavy rail core technical disciplines for major Class 1 Railways and third party departments of transportation.
He joins Stantec’s heavy rail team providing a complete railway engineering service package addressing bridges, track, signal and communication, rail yards and terminals for Class 1 and shortline railroads, as well as supporting industrial and mining sector clients across North America and internationally.