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4/1/2024
Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin Oberman last week appointed 21 members to the board’s newly formed Passenger-Rail Advisory Committee (PRAC).
"The members of this inaugural PRAC have a diverse range of experience and we look forward to them providing insightful perspectives as the board considers pressing passenger-rail issues," Oberman said in a press release.
The committee will advise the board on issues related to the development and operation of passenger-rail services, including improving efficiency on passenger-rail routes; reducing disputes between passenger-rail carriers and freight-rail hosts regarding the use of freight-owned facilities and infrastructure for passenger service, such as passenger on-time performance issues; and improving regulatory processes related to intercity passenger rail to the benefit of the public, the communities served by passenger rail, and the environment.
Paul Nissenbaum, associate administrator for railroad development at the Federal Railroad Administration, will participate as an ex officio member of the committee to represent the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The 21 committee members, their areas of representation and term lengths are:• Amtrak: Christopher Perry, associate general counsel, 3-year term; and James Blair, assistant vice president-host railroads, 2-year term;• Commuter rail: James Derwinski, CEO and executive director of Chicago's Metra, 3-year term; and Lori Winfree, general counsel, North County Transit District, San Diego;• Non-Amtrak intercity passenger rail: Husein Cumber, chief strategy officer, Florida East Coast Industries, 3-year term; and Gregg Baxter, director of government relations and strategic partnerships, Herzog Enterprises, 2-year term; • State that funds intercity passenger rail: Roger Millar, transportation secretary, Washington State Department of Transportation, 3-year term;• State that hosts only long-distance service: Shoshana Lew, executive director, Colorado Department of Transportation, 2-year term;• Class Is: Michael McClellan, senior VP and chief strategy officer, Norfolk Southern Railway, 3-year term; Andy Daly, senior director of passenger operations, CSX, 2-year term;• Short lines and regionals: Henry Posner III, chairman, Iowa Interstate Railroad, 2-year term;• Labor: Greg Regan, president, AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department, 3-year term;• Rail-passenger advocation organization: Jim Mathews, president and CEO, Rail Passengers Association, 3-year term; and John Robert Smith, chairman, Transportation for America, 2-year term;• Rail shipper or shipper organization: Jonathan Lamb, president, Lake Superior Warehousing Co. Inc., 2-year term; and• At-large: Joseph Black, SVP, rail operations and service planning, WSP, 2-year term; and Aaron Edelman, attorney, Mooney, Green, Saindon, Murphy & Welch, 3-year term; Patricia Long, president, Railway Supply Institute, 2-year term; Robert Padgette, managing director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, 3-year term; Liliana Pereira, director, Steer, 2-year term; and Carl Warren, president and CEO, North Carolina Railroad Co., 3-year term.