The Surface Transportation Board continues to strengthen an advisory panel of railroads and shippers.
Ryan Ratledge, president and chief executive of short line operator Pinsly Railroad Co., has been appointed to the rail regulator’s Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council (RSTAC) for a three-year term as the small railroad representative.
“I am honored to represent Pinsly Railroad Company and small railroads across the country on the RSTAC committee,” said Ratledge. “I look forward to the opportunity to positively impact the industry by contributing to RSTAC’s objectives.”
The long-standing 15-member RSTAC provides advice and recommendations on regulatory, policy, and legislative matters to STB board members, the Secretary of Transportation, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Members include representatives from BNSF, Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC), CN (NYSE: CNI), OmniTrax, R.J. Corman, Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM), and rail union TD-SMART.
However, the panel does not directly confer on pending issues before the regulator which would include the proposed merger of Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and Norfolk Southern, an $85-million blockbuster deal which would transform the U.S. rail industry.
Ratledge, with 30 years in freight rail, since 2022 led privately-held Pinsly’s expansion from two to nine short lines in seven states as well as acquisitions in warehousing, transload and trucking.
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Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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