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Earlier this year Edward A. Burkhardt, founder, president and chief executive officer of Rail World Inc., a Chicago-based railway investment, management and consulting firm, pledged his support to OnTrackAmerica, a non-profit organization committed to developing and implementing a comprehensive and sustainable plan for freight transportation in North America, through donations totaling $75,000. Burkhardt, widely regarded as a leader in railway management, donated the money to help OnTrackAmerica fulfill its mission.
“OnTrackAmerica’s founder, Michael Sussman, has explained his program to me,” Burkhardt says. “And I’ve concluded that he’s on the right track but needs support to achieve its goals.”
Burkhardt’s generous contributions to OnTrackAmerica follow his $4 million endowment to Michigan State University to develop a comprehensive railway management curriculum. Both donations represent sound investments in the future of rail transport.
Following his completion of railway management studies as a graduate student at Yale University in 1960, the program – the last of its kind in the U.S. – was discontinued. And for the past 49 years, no programs of study like it have existed. He believes that this void has been both a direct result of and a contributor to the sad state of rail transport in this country. Burkhardt hopes that his efforts will help prepare today’s students to be better equipped to successfully run tomorrow’s railways.
“I’d like see more opportunities like these,” Burkhardt says. “We need programs to educate promising students to be better qualified to be the next generation of railroad senior management. We are looking for people who can take a leadership role in developing the incredible potential of our industry.”
Similarly, Burkhardt sees his contribution to OnTrackAmerica as a crucial factor toward ensuring the viability of future rail transportation across North America. He believes groups like OnTrackAmerica are vital for advancing the rail industry’s strategic, political and managerial components and critical to making it competitive in years to come.
“Rail management, rail labor, working with political leadership and local interests: OnTrackAmerica is trying to bring all these factors together and get them on one page to see what needs to be done,” Burkhardt says. “And it’s not easy.”
But through the tireless efforts of Sussman, Burkhardt says he sees hope in the future of rail transport.
“He’s been great at identifying the industry’s needs and plotting out what can be done to move it ahead,” Burkhardt says.
