In May, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association's (ASLRRA) board elected as its chair Stefan Loeb, who is executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Watco.
The ASLRRA represents about 600 short lines and regionals that, together, operate 50,000 miles of track or nearly 40% of the national railroad network. They handle in origination or destination one out of every four rail cars moving on the national system, according to ASLRRA.
Loeb’s been with Watco for about a dozen years, after transitioning to railroading from banking. He joined the company in 2010 and in 2015, was named EVP and chief marketing officer. In 2018, Watco promoted Loeb to his current role.
In 2015, Progressive Railroading named Loeb one of 20 “Rising Stars” in the rail industry.
Loeb recently sat down for an interview with RailPrime Senior Associate Editor Julie Sneider to discuss the primary economic concerns on short-line industry leaders’ minds; the industry’s reaction to the new federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — “It’s a bonanza” in terms of available grant dollars, he says; and his goals for his term as ASLRRA chair.
