Prototype News

Keolis Commuter Services (Keolis), the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) operations and maintenance partner for the Commuter Rail, announced Oct. 31 that it has reached a tentative agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) union representing electricians.

The agreement, pending ratification by union members, will be retroactive to July 1, 2023, when the contract first became amendable. Keolis has now reached updated agreements with all 14 Commuter Rail unions, representing more than 2,000 members of the Commuter Rail workforce.

Among other provisions, the five-year agreement includes paid sick leave, annual wage increases, unmatched health benefits, enhancements to the bereavement and vacation policy, and one additional paid holiday.

“The Commuter rail is a great place to build a career, with competitive wages, and some of best benefits you can find,” said Keolis CEO and General Manager John Killeen. “I want to thank our partners at all 14 unions for their hard work. We are proud of these agreements and the quality of life that they continue to guarantee for our workforce.”

The post Keolis, IBEW Reach Tentative Agreement appeared first on Railway Age.

With deep expertise in derailment investigations, rail operations, failure analysis, and rail technology across both freight and passenger systems, Dick brings practical experience and technical leadership that enhances ESi’s expanding rail capabilities. 

Over his 25-year career of diverse rail industry experience, Dick has performed derailment, collision, and fatality incident investigations, and has worked with the Federal Railroad Association (FRA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). Additionally, he served as an onsite subject matter expert during the 2008 Chatsworth Collision NTSB investigation, the largest U.S. railway accident in the last 30 years which triggered the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC).

Dick recently served as Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at ENSCO Inc. His contributions to technology driven railway safety includes leading the delivery of North America’s first Autonomous Track Geometry Measurement System (ATGMS) and deployment of the V/TI Clusters Artificial Intelligence algorithm, which both have significantly reduced track-caused derailments. 

Dick has served in various industry leadership roles including as Chair of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Rail Transportation Division and served as Chair of AREMA Committee 2 – Track Measurement and Assessment Systems. In 2024, he was honored as one of Railway Age Readers’ Influential Leaders as an honorable mention awardee.

Dick holds 11 patents for automated railway inspection technologies and has been prolific sharing knowledge through technical publications, conference presentations, and industry magazine articles.

Will Pinkston, president of ESi, said “We’re incredibly excited to welcome Matt [Dick] to ESi as head of rail strategy and development. Matt brings a rare combination of technical depth, industry leadership and strategic vision. His arrival marks a pivotal moment in our growth, and I look forward to partnering with him as we expand our capabilities and deepen our impact in the rail sector.”

Matt Dick said, “I’ve long admired ESi’s commitment to its customers’ needs utilizing the world’s best experts. I’m honored to join this incredible team and excited to build on its strong foundation in the rail industry to accelerate growth, deepen impact and deliver value to our customers.”

The post Matthew Dick, PE, Appointed to Head of Rail Strategy and Development at ESi as Company Expands Market Presence appeared first on Railway Age.

WATCHING WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 2025 ISSUE: Perhaps the gutsiest-ever regulatory agency decision was the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) 2001 imposition of a railroad merger moratorium. Its architect was then-STB Chairperson Linda J. Morgan. 

Widely anticipated to fail judicial review, a federal appellate court ruled the STB—with sole statutory authority to approve rail mergers—also had power to post a 15-month stop sign “to realize broader statutory objectives.” Morgan’s disquiet? All had not gone well after the agency acted with vigor in approving numerous Class I unifications during the 1990s. 

High-profile service failures followed the 1995 Burlington Northern-Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe merger to form BNSF; the 1997 Union Pacific (UP)-Southern Pacific marriage; and the 1998 CSX-Norfolk Southern (NS) acquisition of Conrail. 

“I cannot in good conscience allow further [mergers] to occur that I believe would run the risk of creating more disruption and instability,” Morgan said in defending the moratorium to develop new merger rules. 

Those “new” rules remain untested 24 years later, as the sole Class I unification since—Kansas City Southern (KCS) and Canadian Pacific (CP) to form Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) in 2023—was evaluated under different rules owing to KCS’s relatively small size. CPKC also suffered post-merger service hiccups. 

Time and circumstances may justify a second merger timeout to reevaluate the long-dormant rules ahead of accepting a UP-NS merger application to create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad, which might beget yet a second (BNSF-CSX). As the UP-NS merger agreement is effective until Jan. 28, 2028—and allows further time for slippage—a timeout for merger rules reevaluation is doable. POTUS Executive Orders, which otherwise freeze new rulemakings, allow them if the issue is competition. 

The rail industry today is materially different than in 2001—valid cause for long-dormant merger rules to be reevaluated and rewritten without ambiguity. Such betterment will assist applicants in making their case more effectively; permit stakeholders to tailor their concerns more narrowly; and create for regulators a more transparent checklist by which to evaluate mergers.

To be more clearly defined are “pro-competitive”; “downstream effects”; “common carrier obligation”; “public interest”; and how competitive “balance” is preserved absent a second transcontinental marriage. Remarkably, NS told the STB in 2000 that requiring competitive enhancements is “apparent antagonism toward mergers.” 

Merger applicants should be required to demonstrate, with specificity, the merger’s likely harm, as well as benefits, to small railroads, communities and modal competition; how they intend to attract on their lines new factories and warehouses as domestic manufacturing is revived; and how they will poach market share from non-union truckers, given rail volumes were stagnant following the 1990s merger wave. The STB might also consider regulatory incentives to counter Class I asset, headcount and service cuts that improve short-term profits at the expense of rail market share. 

To assure confidence in the merger review process, there must be clear understanding of regulatory tools available to repair post-merger service failures, preserve major gateways (points allowing traffic interchange with other railroads), and to police rate increases by revenue adequate railroads. Shippers should know how their rate reasonableness challenges will be handled post-merger, and if reciprocal switching can be made an effective pro-competitive remedy, especially absent a third rail competitor. 

Regrettably, STB’s diamond reputation for decisional independence is at risk courtesy of UP CEO Jim Vena’s Sept. 9 White House visit. Following POTUS 47’s earlier firing of STB merger skeptic Robert E. Primus (in court over its legality), and his post-Vena-meeting merger-support shoutout, UP made a bad-optics contribution to POTUS 47’s $300 million White House ballroom. Erecting a temporary merger stop sign to revise, strengthen, clarify and make more transparent 24-year-old merger rules ahead of considering a UP-NS merger application may also be the STB’s best image-preserving mop-up option to this unfortunate doo-doo dump.

Railway Age Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner was assistant vice president, policy, at the Association of American Railroads and a White House appointed chief of staff to Republican STB member Gus Owen, who voted in favor of the 1997 UP-SP merger. He is author of “Railroads & Economic Regulation,” available from Simmons-Boardman Books, www.railwayeducationalbureau.com/product/railroads-economic-regulation-an-insiders-account/, 800-228-9670.

The post Why Not a Merger Timeout? appeared first on Railway Age.

Francis Patrick (Frank) Mulvey, a Democrat who served on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) from May 2004 to December 2013, died Oct. 18 at 81.

Among just six Ph.D. economists (of 117 members) to serve on the 138-year-old STB and its Interstate Commerce Commission predecessor, Mulvey was a career-long student of freight and passenger railroads. His half-century impact on rail transportation policy was substantial.

Nominated and renominated by Republican President George W. Bush to his twice Senate-confirmed STB post, Mulvey previously distinguished himself in high-level transportation-focused positions at the General Accountability Office, Department of Transportation and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Mulvey prepared for his transportation career with degrees from New York University and the University of California at Berkeley. He earned his Ph.D. in transportation economics in 1974 from Washington State University where his doctoral dissertation was entitled, “The Economic Future of Amtrak.” Post-doctoral research papers included, “The Northeast Corridor High Speed Rail System,” “Amtrak: An Experiment in Rail Service,” “Amtrak: A Cost-Effective Approach,” “Amtrak Versus Intercity Bus,” and “Amtrak: The First Decade.”

Mulvey’s interest in Amtrak never waned. When House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairperson James Oberstar (D-MN) suggested during a 2000 informal discussion that a larger civilian version of the military’s 24-passenger vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft (the V-22 Osprey) might compete effectively with Amtrak on short-haul routes, Mulvey, then an Oberstar aide, feigned surprise but didn’t deny agreement. In 2010, Mulvey sparred with Amtrak President Joseph H. Boardman, saying he preferred riding a “more customer-friendly” bus between Washington, D.C., and his native New York City.

Following completion of his doctoral studies in 1974, Mulvey taught undergraduate economics courses at Bowling Green State University, Wheaton (Mass.) College, Northeastern University and the University of Maryland.

Helping to pay his college tuition, supplement his educational scholarships and increase stingy college instructor wages, Mulvey drove taxi cabs in San Francisco and Boston and worked as a claims adjuster for two insurance companies. Unpretentious to the end, he was simply a regular guy with a blue-collar lunch-pail work ethic, no matter the task. He was born May 5, 1944, in working-class Astoria (borough of Queens) New York.

Mulvey’s interest in, and aptitude for, public policy formulation, review and repair took a propitious turn in 1978 with congressional creation of the National Transportation Policy Study Commission (NTPSC), which recommended liberalizing freight-rail economic regulation and imposing full-recovery user charges on rail modal competitors. Mulvey served as economics consultant to the NTPSC, whose members included relatively new lawmakers Oberstar and Bud Shuster (R-PA), both of whom rose to chair the T&I Committee. (NTPSC general counsel was future Association of American Railroads President Edward R Hamberger.)

From 1985 to 1999, Mulvey served as assistant director of the non-partisan congressional watchdog U.S. General Accountability Office. Among his accomplishments was lead writer of a 10-year assessment of partial railroad economic regulation (the 1980 Staggers Rail Act), concluding that “the law’s freedoms enabled railroads to become more competitive and more responsive to the marketplace.”

In 1999, Mulvey was appointed Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Rail and Transit at the Department of Transportation. T&I Chairperson Oberstar hired Mulvey in 2000 as the Rail Subcommittee’s Democratic staff director. He departed in 2004 for the STB.

A year into his STB post—the 25th anniversary of the Staggers Rail Act—Mulvey disagreed with then-STB Chairperson Roger Nober, who proposed the agency itself critique how it determines railroad revenue adequacy. Mulvey preferred the task go instead to the National Academies of Sciences Transportation Research Board (TRB). “Having the STB perform the analysis is like having the guy who builds your house come in and do the inspection on completion,” Mulvey said.

The TRB subsequently concluded the STB’s annual revenue adequacy determination “serves no constructive purpose,” and “its persistence prolongs the misguided view that a single yes/no indicator of railroad profitability should be used to regulate rates.” In 2015, TRB suggested, as an alternative to annual revenue adequacy determinations, a periodic assessment of industrywide economic and competitive conditions—a suggestion the STB has not adopted.

Mulvey’s peak achievement was in defense of the STB’s decisional independence. When Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) requested a private meeting to discuss a pending STB matter in 2008—interpreted as political pressure—Mulvey declined.

Serving his second term, Mulvey was ripe to be named permanent STB chairperson following the January 2009 inauguration of Democratic President Barack Obama (by tradition, in place of President George W. Bush’s Republican choice of Charles D. Nottingham, who would remain on the Board). Instead, Obama waited until August to name as permanent chairperson newly confirmed STB member and Democrat Daniel R. Elliott III. Mulvey’s defending the STB’s independence by snubbing Durbin may have cost him the permanent chair, as Durbin was understood to exert considerable influence over fellow Illinoisan Obama’s picks below Cabinet level.

Following retirement from the STB, Mulvey provided consulting services to Norfolk Southern. In 2020, he co-authored, with rail shipper attorney Michal F. McBride, “Railroads’ Common Carrier Obligation”—an analysis, with recommendations, published in the Journal of Transportation Law, Logistics and Policy.

In a Nov. 2 Washington Post published obituary, family members recalled Mulvey as “a fast talker with a quick wit and an endless appetite for learning.”

Former STB Chairperson and Republican Ann D. Begeman, who served with Democrat Mulvey on the STB, told Railway Age:

“I had the pleasure of knowing Frank since he served in a key transportation policy position at the GAO and I was a Senate Commerce Committee staff member. Frank volunteered to swear me in [at the STB], which I will never forget, in part because he read the entire script without pause, leaving me frantically trying to recall and repeat each word he had just read.

“Frank was a proud intellect and anyone who met him quickly came to appreciate his expertise and strong will in sharing his convictions. You might come to regret trying to discuss with him whether interchange commitments were paper barriers.

“What I appreciated most during my service with Frank was his ability to recognize gifted staffers and help mentor them. Today, one of those staffers is STB’s general counsel, and another moved to a top career position at the Federal Railroad Administration.

“His love for his wife Petra was shown each and every time he talked of her, as was his love for his family. He helped to remind people that it is possible to work hard and fulfill your role while also caring about the people around you. And it’s the latter that will matter the most upon reflection,” Begeman said.  

John J. Brennan, who was Republican staff director of the House Rail Subcommittee for a time while Mulvey was the Democratic staff director, described Mulvey as “a learned adversary, but never an enemy. We engaged in many spirited discussions but never had an acrimonious word. His sharp mind helped make legislation stronger, and more likely to pass. He understood that arguments are best won though intellectual persuasion. He was a throwback to a less polarized, more civil time,” Brennan told Railway Age.

Elliott said of his fellow Democratic board member, “Frank was an absolute pleasure to work with at the Board. His broad knowledge about economics were a great help and his insights during Rail-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council meetings were invaluable.” 

William H. Huneke, who served as STB chief economist during the years that fellow-Ph.D. Mulvey was at the agency, recalled admiringly, “Frank insisted that the STB hire more economists. It was always a pleasure to work with him.”

Mulvey is survived by his wife of 51 years, Petra; son, Conor; daughter-in-law, Tanya; and granddaughter, Daria.

A memorial gathering honoring Mulvey will be held Dec. 13 at 11 a.m. at Joseph Gawler and Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.

The post Former STB Member Frank Mulvey, 81 appeared first on Railway Age.

RAILWAY AGE, OCTOBER 2025 ISSUE: Michigan State University’s Center for Railway Research and Education, housed at the Broad College of Business, marked a major milestone in 2025 as it convened its 20th iteration of the Railway Management Certificate Program (RMCP). Established in 2007, RMCP has become the gold standard for rail leadership development, thanks to the support from industry visionary Ed A. Burkhardt. This year’s cohort is the largest ever, featuring 41 mid- and senior-level professionals from 27 freight and passenger rail organizations spanning 19 U.S. states and Mexico.

The program’s steady growth reflects the rail industry’s appetite for specialized education that marries academic rigor with real-world immersion. During the past two decades, more than 300 alumni have graduated from RMCP, advancing into executive and technical leadership roles across the industry. Participants praise RMCP for its deep dive into the complex ecosystem of rail, its unmatched networking opportunities, and its ability to catalyze career breakthroughs.

RMCP is structured into four intensive week-long modules, each delivered in multiple locations to give participants hands-on exposure to the spectrum of rail operations, regulation, technology, and strategy. Every year, MSU refines the content to reflect emerging trends and partner with new industry leaders.

Module 1, “Railway Business Administration, Strategy, and Leadership,” lays the foundation with an immersive experience on MSU’s East Lansing campus. Participants engage with top faculty from MSU’s nationally ranked Supply Chain Management department, exploring marketing, strategic decision-making, strategy, negotiation and organizational leadership. In-class case studies put students in the driver’s seat of board-level challenges, evaluating pricing strategies, and operational trade-offs that define today’s rail networks.

Module 2, “Railway Regulation, Safety, and the Rail Industry,” moves to the nation’s capital and the New Jersey/New York harbor region. In Washington, D.C., senior leaders from federal agencies, Senate Commerce Committee staff, advocacy organizations and a Class I railroad participate in classroom discussions on rulemaking, compliance, accident investigations, and the evolving regulatory landscape. An overview by the national passenger rail corporation, along with a site visit to a major commuter rail headquarters, provides insight into coordinating passenger services across complex national and metropolitan corridors. In Newark, participants tour port facilities and an intermodal terminal to explore how rail integrates with maritime and trucking networks to move international freight efficiently.

Module 3, “Railway Technology, Research, and Development,” transports the cohort to Fort Worth, Tex., and Pueblo, Colo.—two hubs of rail operations, advanced manufacturing and innovation. In Fort Worth, the participants have a chance to see next-generation initiatives in network optimization, predictive maintenance, and digital signaling. Pueblo opens doors for deep dives into material science, full-scale testing of equipment and track components, and breakthroughs in alternative fuels and automated operations. A visit to a leading steel making facility underscores the rail maintenance side of innovation.

Module 4, “Railway Operations,” commences in Indianapolis and continues in Chicago—areas central to North America’s rail network. Indianapolis hosts tours of a major locomotive manufacturer and a passenger-equipment maintenance facility, illustrating the lifecycle of rolling stock from assembly to overhaul. In Chicago, the world’s busiest rail hub, experts in dispatching, terminal operations, traffic management and commuter rail guide participants through real-time decision support systems and data-driven scheduling practices that keep thousands of cars and locomotives moving smoothly across the network.

With the silver anniversary of RMCP, CRRE is already laying groundwork for next year’s cohort. The core four-module framework remains, but participants can expect deeper integration of strategic business tools, sustainability practices, and cross-modal insights. Highlights of the 2026 program:

• Module 1: Railway Business Administration, Strategy, and Leadership. April 27-May 1, MSU Campus, East Lansing, Mich.
• Module 2: Railway Regulation, Safety, and the Rail Industry. June 15-19, Washington, D.C., and Newark, N.J.
• Module 3:Railway Technology, Research, and Development. Sept. 28-Oct. 2, Fort Worth and Pueblo, Colo.
• Module 4: Railway Operations. Nov. 2-6, Indianapolis and Chicago.

Registration for RMCP 2026 is now open. Early-bird tuition and detailed curriculum information are available at raileducation.com. Prospective applicants are encouraged to secure their spot early, as demand continues to exceed available seats.

As the rail industry responds to economic shifts, technological innovation, and sustainability imperatives, the demand for knowledgeable, agile leadership has never been greater. MSU’s RMCP offers a distinctive blend of academic rigor, peer engagement, and immersive site-based learning, equipping professionals to lead with vision and operational excellence. Whether your focus is strategic planning, regulatory compliance, customer service and operations, or technology deployment, RMCP provides the insights, capabilities, and connections to advance your career and shape the future of rail.

For more information on RMCP 2025 outcomes or to inquire about RMCP 2026 enrollment, contact the CRRE team at kucheren@msu.edu or call (517) 353-5667. Visit raileducation.com to download the full program brochure and discover how MSU is redefining rail leadership education in its 20th anniversary and beyond. 

The post MSU RMCP Marks 20 Years appeared first on Railway Age.

Reading & Northern Railroad made a $10 million offer in early October to purchase the railroad assets of the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority, which R.J. Corman currently operates.

In an email to Authority Chairman Scott Linde, Reading & Northern owner and CEO Andy Muller also committed to building a passenger train station in downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and running passenger excursion trains to and from that station, including the popular tourist destination of Jim Thorpe, Pa.

“We have read in the local press that the Redevelopment Authority is considering putting its rail assets out for bid for long-term lease or sale,” Muller wrote. “Reading & Northern is prepared to bring its award-winning passenger excursion service to Wilkes-Barre, but only if we are able to reach an agreement to purchase the line.”

The railroad estimates that the track needs at least $2 million in work to operate passenger trains and is also committed to “aggressively” improving and expanding freight service.

“R&N is prepared to enter into sale negotiations immediately, and R&N is willing to close prior to the expiration of the existing R J Corman operating lease,” Muller wrote. “We stand ready and willing to meet with the RDA and other entities in Luzerne County in order to bring tourism to Wilkes-Barre and improve local freight service to this region of Luzerne County.”

The county council-appointed redevelopment authority board members have advocated keeping the railroad under public ownership, the Times-Leader newspaper reported. And because the authority still owes the county $3.28 million loaned in 2001 for the original acquisition of the line, the county council authorized litigation that was filed in July 2025 against the authority.

R.J. Corman, which took over from Luzerne-Susquehanna Railroad a couple of years ago, has a contract that expires in October 2026, according to the paper.

—M.T. Burkhart

The post Reading & Northern Looks to Expand appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.