HNTB drafts Doty for HSR post
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefRobert L. Doty, Director of the Peninsula Rail Program, a partnership between Caltrain and the California High Speed Rail Authority, has been appointed Vice President and Director of High Speed Rail Programs by engineering firm HNTB, effective Jan. 21.
Doty, 64, has more than 40 years of experience in the rail industry, designing, building, and operating rapid transit and heavy rail systems in the U.S. and abroad.He has been Director of the Peninsula Rail Program since its creation in 2008. In that capacity, he led the effort to design preliminary high speed rail alignments and to advance the Peninsula high speed rail segment through the environmental review process. Doty led a successful effort to obtain a waiver from the Federal Railroad Administration for the operation of mixed traffic on the Caltrain right-of-way. The waiver clears the way for a PTC system that would enhance the safety of rail operations, improve the performance of the Caltrain system, and provide critical infrastructure for the operation of high speed rail on the Peninsula.
From 2003-2008, Doty was Director of Rail Transportation, Engineering, and Construction at Caltrain. He managed the operations of the railroad through a contract operator workforce of 450 personnel and was instrumental in developing the highly successful Baby Bullet program that resulted in increased service, ridership, and revenues. He also led development of programs that would advance Caltrain electrifications.
Doty’s prior positions include Manager of Train Operations for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Director of Systems Engineering for the Taipei Rapid Transit System, Project Manager and Chief Negotiator for the Korean High Speed Rail project, and Project Manager for Systemwide Works for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Section 1.
Doty will initially begin work with HNTB on Florida’s high speed rail program, the first segment of which is planned to be built between Tampa and Orlando. By agreement with Caltrain and the CHSRA, Doty will not be assigned work on the Peninsula section of California’s high speed program for at least one year. HNTB is designing that segment.
