Railway Age / RT&S Light Rail 2024

program subject to change

Conference Moderator: 
William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief, Railway Age

Sessions take place in the Versailles Room on the 2nd floor.

Wednesday, November 13 

8:00 AM
Registration / Conference Check-in sponsored by Herzog
Continental Breakfast 

9:00 AM
Keynote Address
Brian Riley, Chief Operating Officer, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
Sponsored by MAC Products, Inc.

9:30 AM
San Diego Trolley Mid-Coast Blue Line Extension
Brian Riley, Chief Operating Officer – Rail, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System

10:00 AM
Innovation Spotlight Presented by MAC Products, Inc.

10:20 AM
Coffee Break

10:40 AM
LRV/Wheel/Rail Interaction and the State of Good Repair
Gordon Bachinsky, P.Eng., Chief Relationship Officer, Global Rail North America & Founder of Wheel/Rail Seminars

11:20 AM
Elevating Passenger Experience Presented by Alstom
Alexandre Paquet, Customer Director and Head of Business Development for Rolling Stock, Alstom

11:30 AM
Structuring and Implementing a P3 DBOM for the Maryland MTA Purple Line
Ray Biggs II, Senior Project Director, Purple Line, Transit Development & Delivery, Maryland DOT/Maryland Transit Administration  

12:00 PM
Luncheon (North Fountain Terrace, weather permitting)

1:30 PM
Engineering for Operations & Service Delivery: FRA Waivers, San Diego & Beyond
Moderator/Presenter: Alfred E. Fazio, P.E., BRT Rail Services
John Mardente, Civil Engineer, Passenger Rail Division, Federal Railroad Administration
Brian Riley, COO – Rail, San Diego MTS
Ray Biggs II, Senior Project Director, Purple Line, Transit Development & Delivery, Maryland DOT/Maryland Transit Administration

3:00 PM
Afternoon Coffee Break

3:15 PM
Advances in Traction Power Technology
Matt Brewer, Staff Director, Engineering and Technology Division , Federal Railroad Administration

4:00 PM
Artificial Intelligence-based Technology for Light Rail Applications Presented by 4AI Systems
Derel Wust, Company Director, 4AI Systems

4:10 PM
New-Start LRT with Transit Signal Priority—at 30 Intersections!
Ken Luebeck, P.E., Project Manager, Systems Engineering, Benesch 

5:00 PM
Networking Reception (North Fountain Terrace, weather permitting)

6:00 PM
Conference Day Ends 

Thursday, November 14 

7:45 AM
Continental Breakfast 

8:45 AM
Planning for MBTA’s Super-Car Type 10 LRVs
Rachel J. Burckardt, P.E., Senior Vice President / Senior Project Manager, Northeast Lead, Freight Rail National Business Line, WSP USA 

9:30 AM
Innovation Spotlight Presented by Piper Networks

9:45 AM
Sound Transit Lynnwood Link Extension
Michael Morgan, Executive Director – Capital Delivery Department, Sound Transit
Andrew Herten, P.E.,  Project Manager II, Transit and Structures, HNTB Corporation

10:30 AM
Coffee Break 

10:45 AM
North County Transit District Sprinter Hybrid Rail
Lillian Doherty, Director, Planning and Development, North County Transit District (NCTD)

11:30 AM
End of Conference Sessions

Grab a Boxed Lunch and Visit the Conference Registration Desk to Sign in for the Tour!

Transit Tour of the San Diego Trolley Sponsored by Benesch

12:00 PM
Tour Participants Meet in the Lobby to Walk to Nearby Civic Center Sta.

You must wear your conference badge throughout the tour.

Hard-soled closed toe shoes. PPE to be provided. Participants may bring luggage with them; storage will be made available during the facilities tour.

12:15 PM
Tour Participants Board the Train at Civic Center Sta.

Tour the San Diego MTS Operations Control Center and LRV facility with subject matter experts. Discuss the UTC Blue Line extension and other initiatives from the first modern LRT system in the United States.

2:00 PM
Return to Civic Center Sta. 

Register >>