VIA Rail Canada Names New CEO

Mario Péloquin has been named as CEO of VIA Rail Canada. He will assume the post on June 12.

Péloquin will become the intercity passenger carrier’s fourth CEO in four years, following Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, Cynthia Garneau, and Martin Landry.

Before coming to VIA, Péloquin served more than a year as chief operating officer of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Before that Péloquin worked at Canadian National, worked as a senior adviser at Transport Canada, and was an investigator for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

He most recently worked for Canadian-based construction firm AECON.

INRD Names New Safety, Training Director

Austin Milton has been promoted by the Indiana Rail Road to director of safety and training.

In a news release, INRD said Milton will coordinate safety operations, including the development, implementation and administration of safety programs, practices, procedures and training.

He also will continue performing workplace safety audits and promoting safety accountability for employees.

Milton joined INRD in 2011 as a train operator. In 2016, he was named manager of safety and training. Before joining INRD, Milton was a manager trainee and trainmaster at CSX.

INRD Vice President Retires

Indiana Rail Road announced recently the retirement of Vice President Engineering Peter Ray.

Ray joined INRD in 2006 as general manager of engineering. In 2009 he was promoted to vice president. His retirement became effective on Dec. 31.

During his time at INRD, Ray oversaw the completion of a $20 million track construction and capacity project to serve Bear Run Mine in Carlisle, Indiana, and the rebuilding of 43 bridges, INRD officials said in a press release.

He previously worked in track maintenance positions at the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, the Santa Fe; the Chicago & North Western, and CSX.

INRD Names 2 to VP Positions

Indiana Rail Road has promoted two employees to vice president positions.

Shae LeDune has been named vice president of human resources and regulatory compliance, while Bryant McCuan has been appointed vice president of engineering.

A news released issued by INRD said both newly appointed executives have been serving their respective departments as assistant vice presidents.

LeDune has worked at INRD for 13 years and been in the HR department since 2017.

McCuan joined INRD in July 2022 and will succeed Peter Ray, who retired at the end of 2022 after nearly 17 years at INRD.

CN Appoints New Chief Operating Officer

Canadian National has replaced its chief operating officer.

The Montreal-based Class I railroad has named Edmond “Ed” Harris as executive vice president and chief operating officer effective immediately. He succeeds Rob Reilly.

Harris has been a consultant to CN since April 2022. He previously served as executive vice president of operations at CSX (2018 to 2020) and chief operations officer at Canadian Pacific (2010 to 2012.

Harris also held executive positions at Illinois Central and CN, including serving as CN’s executive vice president of operations.

In a news release, CN said Harris in a consulting capacity “worked closely with the entire CN operations leadership team on the company’s operational and service excellence initiatives, as the team delivered meaningful rail operations performance and customer service improvements.”

Duncan to be NS Chief Operating Officer

Norfolk Southern has named Paul Duncan as its next chief operating officer.

He will assume the post on Jan. 1, following the retirement of Cindy Sanborn. Duncan is currently senior vice president of transportation and network operations at NS.

He joined NS in March as vice president of network planning and operations.

During his time at NS, Duncan has led implementation of the TOP|SPG operating plan and has played a central role in the company’s service recovery efforts, NS officials said.

Before coming to NS, Duncan was vice president of service design and performance at BNSF. He has more than 20 years of experience in railroad operations.

Sanborn has worked in the railroad industry for 35 years. She came to NS from Union Pacific and previously worked at CSX for 30 years, including a stint as chief operating officer.

She was named chief operating office and executive vice president at NS on Sept. 1, 2020.

INRD Names Wright Vice President

The Indiana Rail Road has named Derrick Wright as vice president, operations and mechanical.

He has more than 20 years of railroading experience, including positions at CSX as a yardmaster, trainmaster, terminal manager, and terminal superintendent in Chicago.

More recently Wright has served as vice president transportation of the former Midwest Region at Genesee & Wyoming and as chief operating officer at Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.

CSX to Get New CEO on September 26

CSX CEO James Foote will retire later this month and be replaced by a former Ford Motor Company executive.

Taking the helm of CSX on Sept. 26 will be Joseph R. Hinrichs, 55, who has worked in the automotive, manufacturing, and energy industries for more than 30 years.

Joseph Hinrichs

At Ford he was president of the company’s automotive business until 2020. He also served as President of Global Operations, President of the Americas, and President of Asia Pacific and Africa.

In a statement, Hinrichs pledged to continue CSX’s focus on growth, technology, and improving the company’s culture.

Hinrichs also serves in advisory and board positions of various companies including Exide Technologies, Luminar Technologies, microDrive, and First Move Capital.

He previously served as a Senior Advisor at Boyden California, an operating advisor at Assembly Ventures, as well as a Director at Ascend Wellness Holdings; GPR, Inc.; Rivian Automotive, Inc.; and Ford Motor Credit Company.

He was chairman of the National Minority Supplier Development Council from 2016-19 and also served on the boards of CEO Climate Dialogue, Climate Leadership Council, and the US-China Business Council.

Hinrichs earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, graduating magna cum laude from the University of Dayton, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Tiffin University and an Honorary Doctor of Science and Business Administration degree from Cleary University.

A CSX news release said Foote will serve as an advisor to Hinrichs for six months. The CSX statement said the appointment of Hinrichs was a “planned secession.”

Foote also will step down from his post on the CSX board of directors

A story posted on the website of Railway Age included a note from editor William C. Vantuono saying that during a short interview following the announcement, Hinrichs said having experience as a major railroad customer will be beneficial in his new job at CSX, and that addressing the service delivery challenges of the past two to three years will be his prime focus.

Vantuono noted that Hinrich’s experience as a railroad shipper is similar to the background of former Canadian National CEO J.J. Ruest, who had a long tenure in the chemical industry, another major user of railroads for transportation

Mudge Appointed to R.J. Corman Board of Directors

Fred Mudge has been appointed to a seat on the board of directors of R.J. Corman Railroad Group.

Mudge is a former board member who served as chairman and interin president and CEO of the railroad.

In a news release, Corman said Mudge earlier served the company for nearly 20 years.

Mudge also is a former secretary of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, and previously served as president and CEO of Logan Aluminum, a flat-rolled aluminum manufacturer. In addition, he spent 32 years at Arco Metals.

Executives, Author William Howes Dies

Former railroad executive and railroad historian William F. Howes, Jr., has died. He was 83.

Howes worked for the Baltimore & Ohio, Chessie System and CSX, and was known for his work in the passenger department of B&O/C&O.

An obituary posted on the Trains magazine website credited Howes with being instrumental in the development of the Chessie System Chess-C cat logo in 1972, and in overseeing the planning and operation of nearly 100 Chessie Steam Special excursions in 1977-78. He had a hand in designing the yellow, blue, and vermilion locomotive livery introduced in 1972.

He also served as president of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society from 1994 to 2003.

Howes great up in Yonkers, New York, and graduated from Carnegie Tech with a civil engineering degree in 1961.

He began his railroad career as a structural draftsman for the New Haven Railroad in 1960. He later studied for a master’s degree in civil engineering at Purdue University.

Howes joined the B&O in 1963. During his career he worked in the operating, industrial engineering, passenger services, casualty prevention, and executive departments.

In 1965, Howes was appointed assistant to the trainmaster for B&O’s Akron-Chicago Division. He would join the passenger department of B&O/C&O in May 1967 and become its director in 1969.

For the final trips of the Capitol Limited, which departed Chicago and Washington on April 30, 1971, Howes arranged to bring back for one night the famed B&O salad bowl in the dining car and found a few Deer Park spring water jugs, another B&O tradition.

The last runs of Nos. 5 and 6 fielded additional sleeping cars. The trains also carried dome cars.

Howes told the Baltimore Sun in an interview more than three decades later that the railroad was unsure if the trips that began April 30 would be the last ones because of a court challenge to the inauguration of Amtrak on May 1.

Riding No. 6, Howes said he learned at Martinsburg, West Virginia, that the court challenge had failed. “Then we knew it was the end. It was really quite emotional,” he told the Sun.

Howes noted that at the time Amtrak did not plan to operate any B&O passenger trains or use its rails for trains it did plan to operate.

Therefore, some B&O passenger employees with 30 to 40 years seniority were seeing their careers as they had known them come to an end.

Howes retired in 1988 from CSX as vice-president research and analysis. However, he continued to work as a consultant for the railroad industry and government agencies.

Aside from his work for R&LHS, Howes served as president of the Chesapeake Division of the Railroad Enthusiasts in the Baltimore-Washington area.

In 2015, R&LHS awarded Howes its Gerald M. Best Senior Achievement Award.

Howes was a co-author of The American Railroad (with Joe Welsh and Jim Boyd; Travel by Pullman (with Joe Welsh); and The Cars of Pullman (with Joe Welsh and Kevin Holland).

To read the full Trains obituary on Howes, visit https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/william-f-howes-jr-railroad-official-rlhs-president-author-dies-at-83/