CSX
CSX President and CEO Joe Hinrichs on July 9 represented the Class I as the recipient of the 2025 Diolkos Award at the 15th Annual Rail & Maritime Summit held at the Union League Club of Chicago.
The Diolkos Award is given annually “to recognize an outstanding leader in the Supply Chain who combines business success with consistent, outstanding, practical actions for the well-being of others. The recipient is known for integrity, innovative thinking, and inspiring others professionally and personally.”
“Special thanks to all my CSX colleagues who joined me today and to Mary Elisabeth Pitz who worked so tirelessly to organize the event. My comments today focused on bringing ONE CSX to life for all stakeholders in our industry, something all of us at CSX feel passionate about. All stakeholders in our rail ecosystem should feel valued, appreciated, respected, included, and listened to—just like our employees. By working together, we can finally achieve the profitable growth the industry has been talking about for decades,” Hinrichs wrote in a LinkedIn post.
BJRY
More than 100 BJRY employees and family members recently met in Burlington, Iowa, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the railroad’s founding in 1985.
BJRY provides short line rail service to customer locations on multiple Class I’s, including BNSF, Union Pacific (UP), CN, and Norfolk Southern (NS). BNSF recently announced that the BJRY, a Class III railroad, has been added to the BNSF “Shortline Select” Program as one of six railroads chosen for the exclusive, customer-focused program. Shortline Select, launched in September 2024, allows short line railroads “to share BNSF’s commitment to growth and service by providing expanded opportunities for customers to reach an even broader consumer base.”
“We continue to be excited about future growth at BJRY and how we can benefit the communities we serve,” said BJRY Principal-Corporate Development Peter Hoth. “Our customers and Class I railroad partners are essential to that growth. We are dedicated to providing our ‘white glove’ rail switching services to our customers and transload partners.”
In 1985, local Burlington attorney and entrepreneur Steve Hoth and his physician wife JoEllen Hoth purchased a single locomotive, three miles of track and hired three employees to run a short line railroad. Forty years later, BJRY operates on more than 250 miles of track in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri; employs 100; and owns 50 locomotives serving 85 customers at 15 locations.
