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August 21, 2025|News

Pop-Up Metro Spotlighted at 2025 Light Rail Conference

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
Pop-Up-Metro

This year, Railway Age and RT&S are pleased to venture to Pittsburgh on Oct. 1-2 for the much-anticipated 2025 Light Rail Conference, featuring a packed lineup of LRT professionals who are significantly influencing today’s rail transit industry. Among the list of reasons to attend is a detailed-filled presentation, TDI Pop-Up Metro New-Start Initiatives, about the innovative, practical, low-cost concept for LRT and other passenger rail applications.

This edition of our annual in-person Light Rail Conference will be filled with dynamic panels and the chance to network with a wide-reaching group of like-minded professionals. This event will offer a comprehensive review of the specialized technical, operational, environmental, and socio-economic issues associated with light rail transit (LRT) in an urban environment.All this will take place at the Fairmont Pittsburgh.

About Pop-Up Metro

Pop-Up Metro is “a kit for building a railroad for operation on existing track, a fresh transit infrastructure alternative utilizing existing low-density freight rail lines and North America’s only battery-propelled passenger cars,” as described by Railroad Development Corp. “Pop-Up Metro offers a reliable, low-cost, and sustainable option allowing communities considering rail options to prove both the concept and the market in an expedited, economic, low-risk manner. Pop-Up Metro is offered as a Turnkey ‘Kit’ incorporating trains, ADA complaint modular platforms, charging equipment, maintenance infrastructure, training, and operating plan as an annual lease, eliminating the high up-front capital commitment typically associated with light Metro start-ups or service extensions.” Pop-Up Metro is currently using 1.8 miles of Pennsylvania’s East Broad Top Railroad for its test track. In February 2025, TDI Greenway and RDC partnered to strengthen growth for rapidly deployed light metro, light-rapid transit, very light rail (VLR) and tram solutions on secondary freight and passenger routes worldwide. The joint venture led to a merger between TDI and RDC’s rail mobility division, Pop-Up Metro (PUM) LLC. TDI is headquartered in the U.K., while PUM provides a U.S . footprint, as both work to expand transit solutions around the world.

Presenters are Henry Posner III, Chair, and Ida Posner, COO, Railroad Development Corporation; Nate Asplund, President, Pop-Up Metro LLC; and Thomas R. Hickey, Transportation Strategist, West Chester Intersection, LLC. Railway Age Contributing Editor David Peter Alan is moderator.

Program Highlights

Presented Oct. 1-2 at the Fairmont Pittsburgh, the 2025 Railway Age and RT&S Light Rail Conference is a must-attend premier conference on LRT for transportation professionals in planning, operations, civil engineering, signaling, and vehicle engineering. Students at the undergraduate and graduate levels are also welcome.

Transit leaders on the program include Andy Lukaszewicz and  Justin Selepack of Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT), Bryan K. Moore and Casey Blaze of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA), Henry Posner and Ida Posner of Railroad Development Corporation (RDC), Harry Skoblenick of Alstom, Barbara M. Schroeder ofBenesch,  Rachel J. Burckardt of WSP USA, and many more.

Key sessions will focus on:

  • Strategic insights into major new-builds and expansion projects.
  • Engineering sessions illustrating how to best support long-term efficiency and safety.
  • Capital program oversight, risk mitigation, and performance tracking.
  • Resilience planning, sharing adaptive strategies for extreme weather events.
  • Improvements to customer-facing technologies such as fare collection, communications and security.
  • The viability and scalability of alternative propulsion technologies.
  • Confronting funding challenges.

Supporting Organizations

Industry support for the Railway Age / RT&S 2025 Light Rail Conference is already strong, including sponsorship from 4AI Systems, Piper Networks, Benesch, and RDC.

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