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Watco Cos. L.L.C. has promoted Gary Vaughn from senior vice president of safety to senior vice president of regulatory relations and compliance. He will be responsible for monitoring and addressing the rail industry’s increased regulatory environment.

“[The] new position will allow him to be able to focus primarily on the many regulatory changes in the rail industry and be an even stronger advocate for the industry as a whole, while continuing to support our safety teams and to develop implementation plans for regulatory compliance,” Watco officials said in a prepared statement.

Vaughn joined Watco in 2003 as SVP of safety. He implemented programs that led to a 300 percent improvement in safety in the first year and subsequent improvements for seven straight years even though the company added several new properties in that time period, Watco officials said. Vaughn also won the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s first Safety Professional of the Year Award in 2011.

Meanwhile, Watco is seeking candidates for a newly created post: vice president of transportation safety. The company expects to fill the position by late August. The selected candidate will report to SVP of Transportation Mitch Becker.