Concurrent with the operation of a special train on October 18 honoring the retirement of Robert A “Bob” Pietrandrea from his position as President of Railroad Development Corp. (RDC), the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) has taken the opportunity to name its Silvis yard in his honor.
IAIS & RDC Chairman Henry Posner III commented, “While Bob has retired from his job as President of RDC, he remains a board member of IAIS. He set the tone for the trajectory of the company with his focus on investing in both our people and facilities, and this is reflected in Silvis, which as our eastern gateway also represents growth and connectivity.”
IAIS President Joe Parsons added, “We have continued to add tracks on the footprint of what was at one time the Rock Island’s most important hump yard and eastern gateway. We do blocking for both the Chicago and Peoria gateways at Silvis, and it was also our first major new-build facility with our combination car repair shop and yard office. With that significance to the IAIS system in mind,
naming this key facility after Bob is only natural due to his many contributions over the years that allowed IAIS to not only survive, but thrive.”
IAIS director and iCON Partner Rory Hunter concluded, “Bob’s involvement was critical to
getting the IAIS to where it is today, and a key element of our investment in the company. We
are proud to be part of the recognition of his contributions through the dedication of
Pietrandrea Yard. We look forward to having Bob on the IAIS Board for many years to
come.”
For these reasons the IAIS board at its October 19 meeting formerly affirmed the naming of Silvis yard as Pietrandrea Yard.
RDC (www.rrdc.com) is a family-owned railway investment and management company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Its business model is based on partnerships, including interests in the Iowa Interstate Railroad; Peru’s Ferrocarril Central Andino; UK Battery train manufacturer Vivarail; German passenger & freight rail operator RDC Deutschland; French first/last mile freight operator RegioRail; and Belgium-based multimodal logistics integrator Eurorail. In addition, RDC is now launching Pop-Up Metro in North America, an innovative approach to fast-start transit deploying battery trains on existing light-density freight rail lines. For further information, please contact: Henry Posner III, Chairman t: +1 (412) 928-7704 RDC e: hposneriii@rrdc.com.