Qui est Ed Burkhardt ?
Chairman de Montréal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) propriétaire du train ayant provoqué l’accident de #Lac_Mégantic
Président et CEO de la société mère de MMA : Rail World, Inc.
Sur le site de la société mère
Rail World, Inc.
▻http://www.railworldinc.com/RailWorldInc.htm
A railway management, consulting and investment corporation specializing in privatizations and restructurings. Its purpose is to promote rail industry privatization by bringing together government bodies wishing to sell their stakes with investment capital and management skills. Rail World was incorporated in July 1999 by Edward A. Burkhardt, who is the President and Chief Executive Officer.
United States and Canada
Mr. Burkhardt serves as Chairman of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, a 750 mile regional railway operating in Maine, Vermont, Quebec and New Brunswick. He is President of The San Luis Central Railroad Company, a short line railway based in Monte Vista, Colorado, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway, a regional carrier serving the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Estonia
Mr. Burkhardt is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AS Baltic Rail, based in Tallinn, which is developing the Finland - Baltic States – Poland rail corridor involving automatic change of track gauge at the Lithuania / Poland border. He led the Estonian Railways privatization in 2001 and served as Chairman of its Supervisory Board until it was repurchased by the Estonian government in early 2007.
Poland
He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rail Polska, based in Warsaw. Rail Polska completed two short-line railway acquisitions in early 2003: Kolex (based in Oświecim) and ZecTrans (based in Wrocław). Rail Polska has been granted unrestricted operator license on the Polish rail network, and commenced long-haul train operations, primarily handling power-station coal, in October 2003. Rail Polska is currently expanding rapidly in the deregulated European rail marketplace.
Il en manque. Sur le site de Rail World Ukraine, on trouve un peu d’historique de ses interventions passées (et de ses grosses plus-values antérieures…-
▻http://www.railworld.com.ua/component/content/article/9
New Zealand :
While with Wisconsin Central, Mr. Burkhardt led the privatisation and subsequently served as Chairman of Tranz Rail Holdings Ltd., the rail and ferry system of New Zealand, from its start-up in September 1993 thru August 1999
United Kingdom :
Also while with Wisconsin Central, Mr. Burkhardt served as Chairman and Chief Executive of English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd. during the period from its start-up in December 1995 through July 1999. He led the investor group that purchased five railway operations from the British Railway Board, which handled 93% of rail freight in the United Kingdom.
Australia :
Mr. Burkhardt was also Chairman of Australian Transport Network from 1997 through August 1999, which purchased Tasrail, a freight carrier operating in the island State of Tasmania, Australia. Subsequently, Tasrail purchased the Emu Bay Railway from the mining company Pasminco and merged the two rail operations. ATN also was an investment of Wisconsin Central.
Estonia :
Mr. Burkhardt is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Navirail OÜ, based in Tallinn, which operates a freight ferry between Helsinki and Tallinn. He is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AS Baltic Rail, also based in Tallinn, which is developing the Finland - Baltic States – Poland rail corridor involving automatic change of track gauge at the Lithuania / Poland border. He led the Estonian Railways privatization in 2001 and served as Chairman of its Supervisory Board until it was repurchased by the Estonian government in early 2007.
Poland :
He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rail Polska, based in Warsaw. Rail Polska completed two short-line railway acquisitions in early 2003: Kolex (based in Oświecim) and ZecTrans (based in Wrocław). Rail Polska has been granted unrestricted operator license on the Polish rail network, and commenced long-haul train operations, primarily handling power-station coal, in October 2003. Rail Polska is currently expanding rapidly in the deregulated European rail marketplace.
Ukraine :
Mr. Burkhardt is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rail World Ukrain e, based in Kyiv. RWU was incorporated in 2009 to edngage in a freight forwarding business specializing in traffic flows crossing Ukraine’s western border, and to work with Ukrainian Railways on locomotive projects and in certification of the Talgo variable track-gauge system, for which Rail World holds the freight license.
Par ailleurs, il suscite une admiration effrénée des sectateurs d’#Ayn_Rand de la #Atlas_Society (article assez ancien, 1998)
La conclusion du dithyrambe (et accessoirement pamphlet antisyndical…)
Wisconsin Central Railroad | Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and Individualism | The Atlas Society
▻http://www.atlassociety.org/wisconsin-central-railroad
Ed Burkhardt may have been naïve in his wish that his company be everybody’s favorite railroad. But for those of use who admire the creators and executors of new ideas that profitably solve old problems, the Wisconsin Central has to be our favorite (nonfiction) railroad.
Cette conclusion suit la partie où l’auteur défend le valeureux Ed Burkhardt des viles attaques prétextant sa responsabilité dans un malheureux accident de chemin de fer en 1996 dans le Wisconsin (la société à partir de laquelle le héros prît son envol.
Dans les mots du laudateur, sous le titre de paragraphe :
Power and Envy
Inevitably, the success of Wisconsin Central attracted the animosity of those who resent achievement. The vultures were ready to pounce whenever misfortune struck. And they did pounce in the aftermath of a train derailment caused by a broken switch in the small community of Weyauwega, Wisconsin, in March 1996. Thirty-five cars derailed, almost half of them containing liquefied petroleum gas. One car exploded, but the heroic efforts of the train’s conductor minimized the extent of the fire. No one was injured.
Dans la presse canadienne (#paywall)
Lac-Mégantic : un présage de la tragédie au Wisconsin | Explosion Lac-Mégantic | Dossiers JdeM | Le Journal de Montréal
▻http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2013/07/09/un-presage-de-la-tragedie-au-wisconsin
Les compagnies ferroviaires opérées par Ed Burkhardt, le patron de la Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway, n’en sont pas à leur premier déraillement en plein cœur d’une ville. Un grave accident survenu en 1996 au Wisconsin rappelle étrangement la tragédie de Lac-Mégantic, et pose la question des leçons tirées de l’événement.