USA: Rail freight and engineering company Railmark Holdings is returning to the passenger rail services sector through its subsidiary Train Travel, which provides consulting, operating and mechanical services to transport agencies, operators and states seeking expansion or new services.
Railmark said Train Travel has a ‘storied 38-year past’ with its former Star Clipper Dinner Train and Reno Fun Train services having handled more than 3.5 million passengers in the past.
Venetta Keefe has been appointed as Director of Passenger Rail Services for Railmark and Train Travel. Prior to joining Railmark, she was a Midwest Project Manager for the Federal Railroad Administration where she oversaw nearly $305m in passenger rail investments. She also spent 24 years with the rail division of the Indiana Department of Transportation, where she was involved in the launch of Amtrak’s state-sponsored Hoosier State service from Indianapolis to Chicago, which operated from 2013–2019.
‘I could not think of a more qualified person to lead Railmark’s relaunch back into the delivery of passenger rail services than Venetta Keefe’, said Railmark President & CEO B. Allen Brown II on April 15. ‘Among her various talents, she is among a very small, select group of passenger rail professionals with experience managing state-funded passenger rail service under the complex federal Passenger Rail Investment & Improvement Act legislation.’