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President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Edward A. Burkhardt’s career in the rail sector spans over 40 years and he has substantial experience in all aspects of rail management.  Mr. Burkhardt is the founder, President and CEO of Rail World, Inc., Rail World Holdings LLC and Earlston Associates L.P. (collectively referred to as Rail World).   During the four years that Rail World has been in existence, Mr. Burkhardt successfully led an investment group that privatized and restructured the Estonian Railways, an investment group that purchased railway assets in the United States and Canada and he has been involved in a number of other railway privatizations around the globe.  In addition to being involved in railway privatizations and acquisitions, Rail World also provides consulting services to large transportation companies.  Rail World currently has operations in the United States, Canada, Poland and Estonia. 

Prior to creating Rail World Mr. Burkhardt founded Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation, and served as Chairman, President, and CEO.  During his tenure at Wisconsin Central, Mr. Burkhardt led successful rail privatizations in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the UK.  In his time at Wisconsin Central, it increased its revenues fourfold and its shares became listed through a highly successful flotation.

 

Prior to his work at Wisconsin Central, Mr. Burkhardt spent over 25 years with several Class I railroads in the United States including 20 years with Chicago & North Western Transportation Corporation, successively as vice president marketing and vice president operations.

 

Mr. Burkhardt holds a B. S. Degree with honors in Industrial Administration from Yale University and studied Rail Administration at the Yale University Program in Transportation. In March 1999, he was voted “Railwayman of the Year” by Railway Age Magazine and, in December 1999, was voted one of the 16 “Railwaymen of the Century” by Railway Age Magazine.

 

In addition to his presidency of Rail World, Mr. Burkhardt  is Chairman of Baltic Rail Services OÜ, Chairman of AS Eesti Raudtee (Estonian Railways), Chairman of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Inc (a 1300 KM regional railway serving the states of Maine and Vermont in the United States and Quebec and New Brunswick in Canada), President of Rail Polska, President of Cargo Central Europe and President of San Luis Central Railroad Company (SLC).  Mr. Burkhardt also serves on the Board of Directors of the following companies:

 

   

   

   

   
     
 
 
  • Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad in Brewster Ohio USA (a regional carrier serving the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia).
  • Baltic Rail Services, OÜ in Tallinn, Estonia (holding company for the private shares of AS Eesti Raudtee)
  • AS Eesti Raudtee (Estonian Railways), in Tallinn Estonia (the former Estonian National Railways which was privatized in 2001)
  • Rail Polska S.P. Z.o.o and Cargo Central Europe S.P. Z.o.o in Warsaw, Poland
  • Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Corporation and Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway in Bangor, Maine, USA (a regional carrier serving the US states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick).

  • Valeant Pharmaceuticals (formerly ICN Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded pharmaceutical company based in Costa Mesa, California NYSE Symbol VRX)
  • Polymedica Corporation (a publicly traded national medical product and services company based in Woburn Massachusetts NASDAQ Symbol PLMD).
   
 
 

Moving the World

© 2008 Rail World, Inc.