Anacostia Rail short line hires Bjornstad as president

The Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad Co. (CSS) has named Todd Bjornstad to succeed Andrew Fox as the short line's next president, effective March 1.

Fox will assume the role of chief executive officer for a transitional period, after which he will join CSS parent company Anacostia Rail Holdings, Anacostia officials said in a press release.

Bjornstad has 25 years of experience in the rail industry. He is the former general manager of the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad, where he served since the short line's acquisition by Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) from Canadian Pacific in June 2014.

His other roles at G&W included vice president of transportation for G&W's Midwest region and vice president of customer service for RailAmerica in Jacksonville, Fla. Prior to that, he had been with the Union Pacific Railroad for 17 years.

Fox has been the president of the CSS since 2010, when he joined the railroad after 13 years at another Anacostia Rail Holdings railroad, Pacific Harbor Line (PHL). He was essential in helping the PHL get launched and served as its president since its inception in 1997, Anacostia officials said.

The CSS is one of six railroads operated by Anacostia Rail Holdings. It operates 127 route miles of line providing freight-rail service between Chicago and South Bend, Ind. CSS connects with all Chicago railroads and serves the Port of Chicago.