Thursday, August 4, 2016
Northeastland Hotel, Presque Isle
REBUILDING A RAILROAD, REBUILDING TRUST
THREE YEARS HAVE PASSED since the Lac Megantic rail disaster and more than two since New York-based Fortress Investment Group purchased the bankrupt Montreal, Maine & Atlantic
Railway’s assets and re-established the rail line under the Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQR) name. In that time, the railway has made a remarkable turnaround that led to CMQR being named
2016 Regional Railway of the Year by Railway Age.
CMQR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER RYAN RATLEDGE will be our guest speaker at the MBTA’s Aroostook County Meeting. He will talk about the railway’s investment in its rail infrastructure, plans for its operations in Maine and Quebec, including CMQR’s contract with the state of Maine
to operate the 58-mile Rockland Branch line.
RATLEDGE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CMQR’S transportation, engineering and mechanical groups. He began his railroad career in 1994 as a switchman with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Corp. He joined RailAmerica as general manager of the Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad in 2007. In 2008, he was promoted to general manager of the Indiana and Ohio Railway (IORY) in Cincinnati, Ohio, tasked with turning around a railroad that had consistently underperformed in terms of customer service, safety and efficiency. In early 2011, Ryan became vice president of
the company’s midwest region. Under Ryan’s leadership, the region saw a major safety improvement and growth in customer satisfaction and operating income.
PLEASE JOIN MBTA FOR OUR ANNUAL AROOSTOOK COUNTY MEETING, an opportunity for professional development, discussion and networking with leaders in the transportation field.
Cost for dinner is $35 per person. Dinner reservations are due by July 29th.
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