Railway Age is pleased to announce the 25 “Fast Trackers” selected for this year’s 25 Under 40 awards program.
This year’s honorees were selected from freight and passenger railroads; government entities; and the supplier, contractor and consultant communities. They were required to be under 40 as of Jan. 1, 2026.
“Our eleventh-annual awards program honorees not only represent the strength and growth of our industry, but also the ‘best of the best,’” Railway Age Publisher Jonathan Chalon said. “Railway Age will feature their accomplishments in the February 2026 issue.”
“It was an honor to be invited to judge the ‘Fast Trackers’ awards again this year. The breadth and depth of achievement and experience demonstrated by the younger contingent in our industry workforce is a good sign for the future. Technology adoption was noticeable but a major component in many submissions was the balancing of job tasks with people-skills. Leadership qualities were evident whatever the position or type of company in the industry, and can take many different forms,” said former Michigan State Center for Railway & Education Nick Little, who was program judge.
“Submissions covered job content and brought it to life by describing impacts, results and, wherever possible, describing examples applying leadership skills and dynamic thinking. 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.”
Honorees (in alphabetical order):
- Kyle Anderson, Communications Director, Amtrak
- Devin Berci, Manager Application Delivery and Support, CPKC
- Steven Bybee, Senior Vice President of Operations, Southern Region, Union Pacific
- Paola Cala-Ortiz, Director, Telos Advisers
- Matt Denham, General Superintendent of Transportation, BNSF
- DJ Ezell, Vice President of RWIC Operations, RailPros
- Lewis Fitzgerald, Director of Intermodal Operations Planning and Design, CSX
- Felipe Horta Gomez, Quality Coordinator, Currie & Brown
- Josh Huster, Chief Strategy Officer, Alpenglow Rail
- Sahand Jafarian, Senior Manager, Track Engineering, Metrolinx
- Jason Maidment, General Superintendent, British Columbia South, CN
- Ben Miller, Vice President of Engineering, The Greenbrier Companies
- Bernie Miller, Quality Manager, Stacy Witbeck / Modern Railway Systems
- Tim Morris, Hub Manager Mid-Atlantic IMAU, Norfolk Southern
- Kendel Ortiz, Deputy Director, M/W Training, MTA Metro-North Railroad
- Matthew Peagler, IHB Terminal Operations & Network Coordinator at CIROC (Chicago Integrated Rail Operations Center), Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad
- Krystal Perepeluk, Director Passenger Rail, Ontario Northland
- Ryan Ramirez, Engineer V – Senior Project Engineer, RailPros
- Max Schwartz, U.S. Director-Rail, Hatch
- Shannon Simonds, Chief, Office of Rail Planning & Implementation, Caltrans, Division of Rail
- Susannah Sullivan, Senior General Attorney, Law, Union Pacific
- Aditya Umesh, Systems Engineer, Hitachi Rail
- Satish Vijayaraghavan, Head of Quality, North America, Rolling Stock and Components, Alstom
- Ben Wahlen, Regional Vice President, Transportation-West, Patriot Rail
- Ben Wilson, Senior Financial Analyst, Anacostia Rail Holdings Company
Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):
- Tatini Gandham, Senior Data Engineer, CSX
- Jamie Harrmann, Senior General Attorney, Law, Union Pacific
- Christian Knapp, Chief Mechanical Officer, Denver Transit Operators
- Alexander Myrah, Engineer – ET ESA Level III, Long Island Rail Road
- Yinka Robinson, Head of Public Affairs, External Communications and Marketing – Hitachi Rail North America, Hitachi Rail
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