News

ITLC National Rail Car Consortium Holds Annual Meeting

Posted October 2024

ITLC’s National Rail Car Consortium held its annual in-person meeting in Saint Paul, Minnesota, September 9-13, hosted by Metro Transit and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1005. Metro Transit’s management team, including Lesley Kandaras, Brian Funk, Ed Meyer, and Ona Pradhan welcomed the attendees on Tuesday morning. ITLC staff, including Addie Khanu, Jason Macumber, and Kristen Ribaudo attended alongside 11 rail car member agencies.



Twenty-four Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) participated, including rail car maintenance trainers, frontline workers, and representatives from: Capital Area Transit System (CATS); Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) and ATU Local 268; Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA); Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and ATU Local 1300; Metro Transit and ATU Local 1005; Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA); Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245; San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS); Sound Transit; TriMet; and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and ATU Local 689.

 

The SMEs developed and reviewed courses on basic mechanical skills, general safety for rail maintenance, wire maintenance, computer basics, and communications. Attendees also toured several of Metro Transit’s rail facilities and participated in team-building activities. ITLC’s annual in-person Consortium meetings offer various networking opportunities for SMEs to connect and share insights and best practices.

 

For more information on ITLC’s Rail Car Training Consortium and future meetings, reach out to Kristen Ribaudo at kribaudo@transportcenter.org.