Railway Age’s “Fast Trackers” awards program, established in 2016, recognizes the top 25 North American railroaders under the age of 40, who are making an impact in their respective fields or companies.
This year’s honorees were selected from freight and passenger railroads; government entities; and supplier, contractor and consultant communities. They were judged on criteria that included industry experience and education, leadership skills, industry contributions, and community service involvement.
“Submissions covered job content and brought it to life by describing impacts, results, and, wherever possible, describing examples applying leadership skills and dynamic thinking,” said former Michigan State Center for Railway & Education Director Nick Little, program judge. “Most importantly, it was not just about ‘getting the job done’ but making sure safety was foremost. One take-away I noted this year was that change was not feared but embraced. It was recognized as an opportunity to develop oneself in order to achieve business success.”
Inside the February 2026 issue, you’ll also find these feature stories on:
- Multiple Tracks: Railway Age Contributing Editor and Patriot Rail Chief Policy Officer Don Itzkoff explores the issues that merit scrutiny in this midterm election year—from federal oversight and investment, which top the list of Washington issues beyond the potential Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, to tech policy.
- TTC Operated by ENSCO: Transportation Technology Center’s Eric Sherrock (Program Manager and Manager, Applied Technology and Engineering Division, ENSCO) and Radim Bruzek (Research and Development Manager) highlight key Federal Railroad Administration research initiatives under way at the TTC, whose facilities enable investigations that cannot be safety or efficiently performed on revenue railroads.
Plus, Capitol Hill Contributing Editor Frank N. Wilner examines the Surface Transportation Board’s rejection as incomplete (without prejudice to refiling) the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application, noting that it “disregard[ed] calls to rubber stamp a merger on the basis of high-level political connections and heed[ed] six-decade-old SCOTUS advice.” Also, Financial Editor David Nahass addresses, from the rail industry perspective, the “constantly shifting landscape” of the application of tariffs across the U.S. economy; American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association President Chuck Baker discusses how changes to the political and industry landscape will require short lines to work harder, smarter and more creatively than ever; and Contributing Editor Pauline Lipkewich wraps up her three-part series on leading through uncertainty in her column, The Rail Way™, From the Boardroom to the Ballast Line.
