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 (light rail transit) professionals who are significantly influencing today’s rail transit industry. Among the reasons to attend is a back-by-popular demand feature, Engineering for Operations and Service Delivery. This detailed-filled presentation will examine the numerous issues affecting shared use of LRT and freight railroad right-of-way.
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. It offer a comprehensive review of the specialized technical, operational, environmental, and socio-economic issues associated with LRT in an urban environment. All this will take place at the Fairmont Pittsburgh.
Session Overview
Presenters for Engineering for Operations & Service Delivery are Thomas R. Hickey, Transportation Strategist, West Chester Intersection, LLC; John Mardente, Civil Engineer, Passenger Rail Division, Federal Railroad Administration; and Alfred E. Fazio, P.E., BRT Rail Services. “The focus of this year’s session will be on designing new-start LRT systems or extensions to an existing LRT with an eye on operational integration at all times,” explains Fazio. “Generic repetition of design is becoming all too common, particularly when applied to LRT, the most flexible, varied and adaptable of all fixed guideway modes. LRT designs must be guided by a clearly defined CONOPS (Concept of Operations) that considers system growth, operational changes, implementation of express service, and maintenance-of-way support, including yards and work equipment. We’ll look at shared use of LRT and freight railroad right-of-way, including treatment of operational and safety issues. As well, we’ll discuss innovative means of operating various types of expedited, or express, services, with prerequisite engineering design considerations such as higher-speed crossovers, turnback tracks, appropriate signage and station design.”
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 train control, and vehicle engineering. Students at the undergraduate and graduate levels are also welcome.
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.
In addition to Fazio, Mardente and Hickey, 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.
Supporting Organizations
Industry support for the Railway Age / RT&S 2025 Light Rail Conference is strong, including sponsorship from 4AI Systems, Piper Networks, Benesch, and RDC. To inquire about sponsorship opportunities, contact Jonathan Chalon at jchalon@sbpub.com or (212) 620-7224.
