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Platform Chats
Platform Chats
A Sneak Peek at the AREMA 2024 Sustainability & Resiliency Symposium
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The AREMA 2024 Sustainability & Resiliency Symposium is almost here. On this first episode of Season 4 and the New Year, Walt chats with two key members of the event's success: Ned Bagniewski, PE, ENV SP (HDR), and Leo Thorbecke (TRC). The trio talks about some of the exciting changes in rail around sustainability, resiliency, and the events planned for the first-of-its-kind Symposium. Changes are here. Hop on board the Symposium before you get left behind.
The North American rail community community and transit organizations have really embedding sustainability for quite some time, you know, looking to reduce their carbon footprint. And I think, you know, part of the game changers, there's more transparency now, more accountability as far as you know, stakeholders, the investment community, a lot of a lot of drivers there. So, you know, the future is really embedding sustainability and resiliency into every aspect of how rail companies do business. And it's it's exciting that, you know, with the RIMA's mission uh, you know, as far as recommending practices pertaining to you know design construction and maintenance way, that you know, this this is a great forum to address it. And I think you know, really having the sustainability resiliency summit, the first one uh for AREMA sponsoring it, is a great way to showcase some of those successes.
SPEAKER_01You may know the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association, or AREMA, as the quote, keepers of the manuals. You may know them as the quote, people behind the largest annual railroad conference in North America. Heck, you may not know about AREMA at all. This podcast is designed, no pun intended, to change your view of who AREMA is and how AREMA has changed the trajectory of many railway careers over its 100-plus year history. Welcome to Platform Chats with your host, Walt Blesser, where he takes a moment to discuss the impacts AREMA has had on the very people who are proud to be called members. Are you ready to roll with AREMA?
SPEAKER_03ARE Corporation is a proud supporter of AREMA and Platform Chats. If you are looking to take your Railway Structure's career to the next level, or simply start it down the right track, please visit us at ARECorp.com. Please see our brand new job postings on our careers page or on our LinkedIn page.
SPEAKER_04Hey everybody, and welcome back to a brand new year's worth of platform chats. We are kicking off 2024, uh, rightfully so, by dropping an episode in the first week or so of the month of the new year. Uh, this is because of my absolute lack of putting out content in 2023 and starting every podcast with an excuse uh as to why I wasn't getting content out. So here, my resolution uh going into the new year is to try to get you guys as much content as possible. I'm shooting for 10 to 12 episodes. Let's see what happens. Uh, if we could get one a month, that would be awesome. But it's gotta be better than I think we dropped seven or eight in uh 2023. Now that said, the ones we did drop in 2023 must have been uh very good and very effective because believe it or not, I received word from Arima World Headquarters, who tracks our statistics uh that the Platform Chats podcast has moved into the top ten uh podcasts globally, railway podcasts globally, it is officially number nine on the list. And if you've been listening to this podcast for a while, we were way in the cellar of that list, and we have slowly been climbing up the rungs uh into the 20s and then the teens, and now we're in the top ten. So if we can get the content out, who knows what's ahead of us uh in the world of podcast rankings, which I'm sure all of you are are closely tracking uh railway industry podcast rankings. Yes, that's a hot, hot category. Uh all right, let's uh move right along here. We are going to kick this year off by talking about the first ever um sustainability uh excuse me, sustainability and resiliency symposium. Uh we our team has been working hard on this. We have an actual committee that's behind this that is made up of people from uh committees 24, which is an education committee, as well as 13, which is our environmental committee. Um this is a first of its kind for AREMA. I know that the leadership uh of ARIMA oh one to two years ago, I believe, recognized this as a weakness in our organization, something we needed to work on, something that we as an organization need to recognize that hey, this is I wouldn't say this is coming, I would say this is here and we need to embrace it. And how can we infiltrate all of the different uh functional groups all the way down to the committees to think and design and and just have top of mind uh sustainability and resiliency uh when they're working on maintenance of way projects, which is what we do here. So they put together this uh well, the symposium that's coming up in Tampa, Florida. There is still time to to uh to register and I wanted to bring on a couple of well the co-chairs of the uh organizing committee to talk about it and to really get you guys excited. That if you have signed up already, great. Uh that'll make you more excited. And if you have not, maybe this is enough to help you uh tip the old scales towards clicking that button to to signing up. So long introduction, I understand that, but uh again, this is the first one of the year. We want to make it good. And I want and without further ado, I do want to just jump right in and grab or introduce my two guests. Like I said, I have two guests. We're gonna start with Ned Bagnewski. Ned is a transportation sustainability leader and a senior rail engineer at HDR. He's based in Omaha, Nebraska. He is formerly with Committee 24, currently on Committee 13, and the co-chair of Arima's Sustainability and Resiliency Symposium. In addition to Ned, I also have Leo Thorbeck. That name might be familiar to you because he was one of my colorful and entertaining guests that I had back, oh gosh, this was probably spring of 22 at this point to talk about Committee 13 uh when they were doing their request for membership, which actually, I believe, actually worked for him. Leo's great. We're glad to have him back on the show as well. So, Ned, if we could start with you, just give a brief background on uh who you are and how in the world you are in the seat that you're in.
SPEAKER_00All right, thanks. Well, um, yeah, I'm Ned Bagneski, and I work for HDR, and as you mentioned, I'm a transportation sustainability leader there, and also have been working in the freight rail industry for uh probably the last 15 years. Um I started off in highway design in our Bellevue, Washington office, and kind of fell into the freight rail industry when I decided to move back to the Midwest where I originally grew up. So um got into the freight rail industry and haven't looked back and have worked on a lot of uh freight rail capacity projects and um have now more recently gotten into sustainability and that's what kind of helped me get into Arima Committee 13, uh the environmental committee, and I'm the incoming uh secretary for committee 13, so I'm looking forward to beginning that new adventure and getting more involved. Um and that also helped me get into the planning of this sustainability and resiliency symposium. So as you mentioned, uh uh Leo and I, as well as Ashley Pate with Trans Systems, are kind of the co-chairs of the organizing committee for the symposium. And we've been planning it over probably the last year and a half, and we're excited that it's finally, you know, in incoming and impending uh in February here.
SPEAKER_04Cool. And welcome to the show and appreciate you uh taking the time to sit down with us. Leo, why don't you just let our listeners know who you are, the same way Ned did, because I guarantee you there's some out there that didn't hear your uh previous podcast.
SPEAKER_02Pardon me. Well, thank you all. Thank you, Ned. It's uh honor and a privilege to be part of this podcast kicking off the new year. Uh Leo Thorbeck, I'm vice president of environmental programs in the transportation sector for TRC. Uh I started off in the railroads, no pun intended, kind of by accident, about 30 plus years ago. Uh was working uh out of college with an environmental consulting firm and got called in to work on a derailment and uh, you know, really saw the the activities associated with teamwork uh with all the consultants working and with the common goal of getting the train back going and uh cleaning up. So uh was just really impressed with the dynamic atmosphere and uh associated with working with railroads and decided, what the heck, let's focus on it. So uh it's been an exciting 30 plus years, and I've worked really with the rail industry uh that whole time. So I sit in beautiful Bloomington, Indiana, centrally located, and uh excited to kind of kick this off.
SPEAKER_04And you were the former chair of 13, is that correct?
SPEAKER_02Yes, I was. Uh I think I've about 23 years active with AREMA and uh was honored to be, you know, fit the role of secretary ascend up to be chair. So that was an exciting time. Excellent. And now Ned's in that in that same same role.
SPEAKER_04So excellent. And and since our podcast, uh which we were talking a lot about trying to grow numbers for 13, uh, did you see an increase in numbers or did you have you said increased participation?
SPEAKER_02Uh really, I would say, you know, under the leadership of Carrie Harris, who uh took the took the gavel from me, uh uh our membership has is uh more than doubled. So I think right now there's a there's a buzz. Um Arima Committee 13 is the committee to be to be a member of.
SPEAKER_04That's amazing. Uh more than doubled. So would you say that the uh membership doubled because of the podcast? And and why would you say that is the real reason?
SPEAKER_02I would say it's all attributable while to that previous podcast that kind of set the tone. I I think that did not I that did not hurt, but uh let's just say it was really you know the engagement of the committee members uh getting more participation uh from the from the railroad uh community too, which uh really helped accelerate the the growth of committee 13.
SPEAKER_04That's awesome. And and I know Carrie's somewhere listening to this and she just chuckled. So I uh I take full credit for that chuckle. And uh let's this this is the the point I'm making here, and where I'm going with this is uh we're not I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say most of our committees uh at Arima probably have not doubled in size in the last two years. Okay, I would say a lot of us are uh, you know, a lot of the committees have been holding steady. Uh some have seen an influx of young people, some have seen a number of people retire. So my point being there's a lot of excitement and there's a lot of attention being uh shown to uh the environmental committees and sustainability and resiliency. These are call them buzzwords, call them what you want. The reality is it's here and they're it's it's a part of our industry. So uh obviously that's what led to this symposium, and maybe the first question I'll ask the two of you, and either of you can take it, and both both of you can take it if you want, is why is sustainability and resiliency important to the railroad industry at large?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I can take a stab at that. Um, you know, I I've been working with sustainability and resiliency since about 2015 and trying to have conversations with railroads, and there's always been interest. Um, but really now that we're here in 2023, the momentum is really building. Um every Class One railroad has climate-related uh emissions reductions goals. They're looking to electrify their locomotives and electrify their equipment as as much as possible. And I think just global events like climate change and um you know the depletion of resources is making everyone kind of wake up to the fact that we need to start treating our our planet in a little better way, uh, and treating the people uh that uh work for the railroads and all of that in a way that's sustainable and makes for better thriving communities and in economics. And um, you know, I I think that's also attributed to the growth in Committee 13. Um the railroads are growing in their sustainability departments, and uh, you know, that's also the growth we've seen with Committee 13. There's more excitement, there's more involvement and more engagement with sustainability.
SPEAKER_02Leo, you want to pile onto that? Yeah, I mean, I'll pile on to that and just kind of uh reinforce. I mean, the North American rail community community and transit organizations have have really embedding sustainability uh for quite some time, you know, looking to reduce their carbon footprint. And I and I think you know, part of the game changers, there's more transparency now, more accountability as far as you know, stakeholders, the investment community, a lot of a lot of drivers there. So, you know, the future is really embedding sustainability and resiliency into every aspect of how rail companies do business. And it's it's exciting that you know, with the REMA's mission uh, you know, as far as recommending practices pertaining to you know design construction and maintenance way, that you know, this this is a great forum to address it. And I think you know, really having the sustainability resiliency summit, the first one by uh for you know REMA sponsoring it is a great way to showcase some of those successes.
SPEAKER_04So perfect. Yeah, I you know, I've been lucky enough to well, number one, I'm just gonna tell you guys right now, uh sustainability and resiliency is not in my uh my wheelhouse, it's not my bellwether. It is uh it is somewhat foreign to me and what I've done at for uh a job in my life, my career. Uh however, I've been lucky enough to moderate a couple panels now in the last two years at uh the conference, and we've been talking mostly about uh locomotive and power supply to the locomotives that are pulling the trains, etc. So the first year I think we talked a lot about going from diesel locomotives to battery-operated uh locomotives, and the second year we talked a lot about uh hydrogen. And in both of those panels, it was pointed out by both panelists and those in the crowd that hey, we're like probably one of the most environmentally friendly modes of transportation uh in the industry, period, compared to trucks or airplanes. Um why are we trying to are is it is it all about the the electromotive power uh or is it more than that? And I feel like it's I feel like the environmental, the sustainability and resiliency is more than just the engines. Would would someone like to kind of take that and run with it and expand on why it's not just about the locomotives themselves?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so in sustainability, there's kind of a three-pronged approach, um, triple bottom line. So part of that is the environmental stuff that we've been talking about. Um, but there's also the social aspect, how are we operating in the communities through which um railroads operate, and um then also the economics of it, you want to make sure that you're getting the best value for your dollar with every investment. So um, you know, there may be more of an upfront cost with some sustainable strategies, but typically when you do the lifecycle analysis, the total cost of ownership is reduced when you start implementing sustainable strategies through uh reduced maintenance or reduced operational costs.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I I would add to that. I mean, uh it's the industry itself, uh once the you know, where are we pivoting to? That will be done by all mostly, most likely all the railroads will. Is it going to be hydrogen? Is it going to be battery? It's not going to be each one doing their own thing. That that's the big, the big game there. But it's a patchwork quilt. There's so many, you know, what what Ned had uh spoken about, there's so many aspects that that are woven into this that that will help meet the goals, exceed the goals. And uh it's more than just the locomotive itself, although that's the that's the big that's the big tick.
SPEAKER_04Sure. But I do like what Ned said about total cost of ownership. Um I think for specifically for our industry where uh the owners own all, well, they own everything, right? They own all the infrastructure, they own every piece of ballast, every tie, every rail, every bridge. Uh they're out there maintaining all of it in addition to the rolling stock. It seems to make good business sense, right? Because when they're doing a project, any project, this is these are, you know, I mean, when we design bridges, these are hundred-year designs, right? Uh our bridges in this country are well over a lot of them are well over a hundred years old, and some of them are hitting mid midlife. So it's a different perspective, I think, than an industry and or commercial. Uh correct me if I'm wrong here, but I feel like the average consumer these days uh is very much adopted a I'm gonna buy something, use it for as long as I can, throw it out, and then I'm gonna buy something new, which is unfortunate. Uh so I really like that that piece of it, and that kind of leads me to some of the papers we're probably gonna see at the symposium. Um by definition, a symposium is is basically people submitted abstracts, I assume, to you guys. How many abstracts did you receive, roughly?
SPEAKER_00Well over 60. Yeah, it was between 60 and 70. So cool.
SPEAKER_04And and that's and it's not just from committee 13, right? These were coming from not at all.
SPEAKER_02Right. It it was a broad outreach, and the response was was was was broad. So it it obviously committee 13 did a lot to to reach out uh to the members and tried to carry the message out, but the response was overwhelming. Uh we we had a great diversity of uh resiliency and sustainability topics addressed.
SPEAKER_04So over 60 were submitted. How many were selected? Do we have an idea?
SPEAKER_00I think it was we had 19 slots um for presentations, and I was really impressed with all of the abstracts. So making the decision on where to cut when you've got over 60 to get down to 19 was really difficult. Uh, so we really appreciated uh everybody that took the time to submit the abstracts. Um and hopefully, you know, the the those that weren't selected will have another chance to present at the AREMA conference or another sustainability and resiliency symposium because there's a lot of great content out there.
SPEAKER_02And at next year's conference too.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, I know uh we just uh let's see, in the month of December, we received uh well over 200 abstracts for the AREMA conference in 2024, and I believe historically we've had we've received 140 to 150. Uh so what's happening with that is, and that's and why that's relevant to this conversation, is we're getting so much interest, uh, we're we just don't have enough time uh at the big conference to showcase everything. There's a lot of good stuff that's that's that's hitting the cutting floor. And I think that we're gonna start seeing more symposiums uh that might be focused on areas. There might be a structure symposium, there might be uh uh you know a PNT symposium. I don't know. So this is no no uh pressure, guys, but you are one of uh the first ones to to give this a shot to see how these go um to supplement or s uh the the annual conference. So walk me through uh what this this thing looks like. Uh you start where where is it located and what day? Is it in Tampa?
SPEAKER_02Uh yes, it is. It's in Tampa, and we actually kick off the first day with an optional uh field trip trip with uh Tico, Tampa Electric Company. Uh they do have a manatee viewing center uh as well as a uh conservation campus there. So that will be an optional trip that we'll go there. Uh have Tico representatives talk about their sustainability commitment, uh, talk about the campus itself that has an aquarium, uh a manatee viewing. area, a number of different uh uh kind of ecologically uh organized uh events there. So that's that's the Monday.
SPEAKER_04Uh is that uh so that's Monday, February 5th.
SPEAKER_02Correct.
SPEAKER_04And uh that so people will will people be flying in that morning or will they have to come in on the the evening of the fourth?
SPEAKER_02Well I would imagine come in the the night before because the we're planning on leaving uh the hotel about nine o'clock in the morning to to get to the Tico campus down there at the conservation center.
SPEAKER_04Cool. Okay so uh yeah you're kicking it off bright and early Monday morning and so Monday will be the uh the field trip uh when you get back is that is that all that's going on on Monday?
SPEAKER_02Yes that's going to be uh until about two o'clock in the afternoon and then transport back to the hotel. Perfect.
SPEAKER_04Okay is there any events Monday night?
SPEAKER_00Yeah there will be a welcome reception on Monday evening from 6 to 7 30 at the hotel hosting the the symposium.
SPEAKER_04Perfect. Okay so if if some folks didn't maybe the uh the the field trip wasn't in the cards they could come in on Monday the 5th and still make the welcome reception that evening and then on Tuesday the 6th I assume that's when we're going to be kicking off presentations at uh say what time in the morning? 8?
SPEAKER_00Yeah so the the welcome and introduction begins at 8 a.m on Tuesday morning um and after that we'll we'll have a keynote address and then start getting into the various panels and presentations for the day. Cool is the keynote is the keynote speaker uh secret or is that is that out so the first morning the keynote uh speaker is still uh kind of under wraps we're we're keeping uh our efforts out there to to find the best presidenter right now um but the welcome and introduction will be done by Trent Hudak who is the former uh president of Arima and really kind of the uh uh idea behind the symposium I believe originated from him so um exciting to have him there and kicking everything off okay cool and so those will go throughout the day uh on February 6th uh and then I'm assuming you'll wrap up sometime in the afternoon is there an event on the evening of the 6th yeah so we on on Monday uh February 5th we have presentations all the way till 5 p.m so it'll be a a full day of sustainability and resiliency talks so um looking forward to that at this point um we don't have any organized um events in the evening but um looking into Wednesday it's going to be another full day of of discussions and presentations oh really okay so it's two it's two days of of presentations and on Wednesday are you guys kicking off on the 7th are you kicking off uh early in the morning again 8 o'clock yeah we're kicking off at 8 30 and we are we do have four panels that are uh between the Tuesday and Wednesday so we do kick off with a resiliency panel at 8 30 on Wednesday the 7th okay great and that's also gonna go out through uh through the afternoon as well correct perfect wow that's that's pretty packed schedule uh lots of presentations and so sounds like you got some keynote speakers Trent's gonna talk uh and you said are there some panel discussions as well is that what I heard yes we do we have a freight panel a transit panel uh resiliency and sustainability so wow so that's that's pretty cool I'm trying to address the the the full gamut of uh representation of Arima okay that's fantastic uh and then so that would be the end of the symposium uh people can check out of their hotels fly home the 7th and or the 8th correct there's nothing that evening that's right now 4 30 uh and closing remarks with with Trent from 4 30 to 5 so that that's a wrap I'm sure there'll be some folks that want to extend their stay because it is Tampa it is February and uh typically a little bit warmer than where half of us live.
SPEAKER_04Yeah I was gonna say that I think uh I think you're gonna find that some folks are probably gonna even stay through the weekend it's a nice time to be nice nice time to be in Tampa good excuse to go uh this sounds like a really nicely well packed symposium and a good test bed to see how symposiums go for a Rima. This is cool.
SPEAKER_02Do we have any idea of how many people have signed up so far or are we is that a top secret number you can tell me it's top secret I don't have the latest uh update from from a REMA from headquarters I I know put it this way the last time I I heard a couple weeks ago uh there was some enthusiasm that uh we the numbers were good. What number I'm not sure but that's fair.
SPEAKER_04Well yeah and I can't let this podcast end without talking a little pimping a little bit about the fact that we are also uh very excited in the structures functional group to be tagging on uh to the work that you guys did setting up the symposium in Tampa uh and leaving the two end two days at the end of the week free at the hotel for us to have a first ever well we've got we haven't gotten very creative uh with the name because it's not really a symposium but it's a uh a summit I guess of all the structures functional group committees so every single structures functional group committee will be meeting at the same time on February eighth so uh we will be having committee meetings of uh uh seven eight nine ten uh fifteen and twenty eight so uh that's that's pretty much all of them they're all gonna be in one room and we're gonna have some panel discussions with the chief bridge engineers of the railroads to talk about why you know being a part of these committees is important to them and how the ARIMA personnel or the AREMA participants can better in uh interact with the the railroad owners uh and we're gonna have some nice slideshows from the different committees to talk about what they do and then on Friday the ninth we're gonna have a half day of uh breakouts where all the committees will go out on their own and do their own meetings. So if anyone's listening and you have any interest in joining one of the structures groups you can stick around and uh get a tasting of what those are like and we'll see how that goes. Our goal here really is to showcase what we do for REMA. Our goal is to increase membership uh because we well that's the goal here uh is to grow our membership base and to see how people can get involved give people opportunities to see something go hey that sounds pretty cool uh and frankly there's going to be a nice presentation from one of the committees about uh how sustainability and resiliency is important to the structures group so uh it's a nice blend or a tie uh a tie back to what's going on uh February 5th 6th and 7th so really exciting for Rima I mean this is I don't know I I I love the conference don't get me wrong every fall it's great I sometimes feel like I wish there was more beyond just the committee meetings that we have throughout the year um and I think this is going to be a really cool way to feed that uh hunger uh full week in Tampa with a kicking it off with this symposium and then having the structures folks close it out the last couple days. I'm really excited to see how it goes for you guys uh how successful it is because it you're you're setting the bar here and like I said if if we're getting 200 and something abstracts for the conference and we can only put 20 25% of those in that leaves a lot of presentations that are potentially good presentations that aren't being heard right so and you and Ned you said you you you I mean even on for this one you received you're only gonna use about 20%.
SPEAKER_00Right yep so only about 19 presentations could be selected for the time we had out of the over 60 that were submitted.
SPEAKER_04Interesting.
SPEAKER_00That's cool I'd add go ahead sorry uh ahead of the uh sustainability and resiliency symposium it's gonna be a busy week for Arima because there's also the introduction to railway engineering uh taking place on Saturday February 3rd and Sunday February 4th down in Tampa at the same location so um a lot going on that week down in Tampa.
SPEAKER_04I am really glad you said that because I did not know that. So that's on the weekend?
SPEAKER_00Yes. Saturday February 3rd and Sunday the fourth.
SPEAKER_04All right and are the two of you going to be making any kind of cameo appearances uh during this symposium or are you going to be hiding in the shadows?
SPEAKER_02No, we're gonna be put to work trust me.
SPEAKER_04We've got a couple panels to moderate and uh you know and again that exciting uh trip to the Florida Conservation and Technology Center that's uh we're working behind the scenes there because that's a 500 acre campus that really showcases uh you know the commitment to environmental stewardship uh habitat restoration and a great way to you know to see TICO Tampa Electric's commitment to sustainability look at the Florida Aquarium Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Manatee Viewing so I think we've got a great fun event educational event planned for that uh that first and then really a diverse selection of panels presentations we're gonna be working we're gonna be working you guys have planned a really cool event uh my my hat's off to everyone on this committee uh to put this together uh I I trust me I understand how hard it is just to plan a committee meeting for 25 people to find meeting space so you know to have uh a large hotel like this with all the meeting rooms and to have an off-site uh field trip that ties into what you're doing this is not easy um this is all volunteer work uh you know congrats this is I I just wish you the best of luck I really hope this goes well um Ned anything else you want to add I'll give you guys the last the last word here yeah um I'm just really looking forward to it and I appreciate everybody's time that they've put into it and all of the the abstract submissions and panelists um you know we're gonna have leadership there in this is from sustainability departments and most of the class one railroads so really excited to hear what they have to say um I believe February is also peak manatee viewing time so for the field trip I'm as soon as I heard there was manatee viewing I was like sign me up so really looking forward to to that as well that's a hot take we got Ned as a Cal fan yes he heard it here first.
SPEAKER_02Yeah and yeah and then we're gonna get to work right after planning the second annual sustainability resiliency symposium so that's that's our goal.
SPEAKER_04That's exactly right you during the structured symposium you will be planning the next the next SRS25 if you will awesome well this was a great way to kick off the new year thank you both for taking the time uh to sit down with me today I really appreciate it uh I I know that the listeners appreciate it and I hope to see many of you uh in Tampa in February.
SPEAKER_01All right everybody take care thank you for rolling with Arima on today's episode of Platform Chats. For further information about Arima please visit arema.org or contact us at info at arema.org
