Tacoma Rail
Alan Matheson has been elevated to Superintendent at Tacoma Rail, a division of Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) and one of the only municipally owned short lines in the United States. A 20-year company veteran, he has served as Trainmaster, Roadmaster and Assistant Superintendent. Matheson is also an active member of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association and was a Pacific Region Board member from 2016-2023.
Prior to joining Tacoma Rail, Matheson was General Manager for American Orient Express (AOE) Rail Services, where he was responsible for maintenance and refurbishment of vintage luxury railcars operating in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Matheson’s promotion was confirmed Sept. 25 by the Public Utility Board. Following the Board meeting, Board Chair John O’Loughlin commented: “I’m thrilled that Tacoma Rail has done such a great job of developing talent, and our internal candidates demonstrated their strength against top-notch national applicants. I thank outgoing Superintendent Dale King for his service and l am looking forward to great things from Alan.”
“It’s an honor to be named the next Superintendent of TPU’s Rail Division, and I consider it a privilege to be able to lead the incredible people at Tacoma Rail who are working safely to provide reliable and environmentally sound services that are vital to our customers and the community we serve,” Matheson said.
HNTB
Christopher Coulter has returned to HNTB as Group Director of Aviation and Rail/Transit. He will lead multiple teams in the design and delivery of large infrastructure projects and manage the firm’s rail and transit practice in the Puget Sound region of Washington state.
With more than two and a half decades of transportation engineering, planning, design, construction and capital program management experience, Coulter served most recently as Senior Manager of Capital Programs for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. In that role, he led a team that was responsible for the development of a $3 billion portfolio, which included airfield, passenger terminal, cargo, security, landside roadway, transit and pedestrian infrastructure improvements. He has also overseen aviation projects at Salt Lake City International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Portland International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and others.
Coulter earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park and is a registered professional engineer in Washington.
“I’m happy to welcome Chris back to HNTB,” said Kris Agers, HNTB’s Washington State Office Leader and Senior Vice President. “His philosophy of ‘building projects builds people’ creates a ripple effect of success that is sure to elevate both his team and further enable our firm to deliver exceptional solutions to our clients.”
In other HNTB news, Grace Madden, one of Railway Age’s first Women in Rail award honorees in 2017, recently joined the firm as Project Director, supporting the Transit Fleet and Facilities Practice.
