Rail vet picked to join Metrolinx as CEO

The Board of Directors of Metrolinx appointed experienced rail operator Phil Verster as its new president/CEO.

Over the last 12 years, Verster has overseen operations and major construction of some of the most complex and customer intensive rail services in England, Scotland and Ireland. Among his most recent assignments as a managing director of Britain’s Network Rail have been running Scotland’s railway operations, the ScotRail Alliance, and initiating work on the East West Railway, a new rail line linking Britain’s high-tech corridor between Oxford and Cambridge.

Verster was selected following an international search on behalf of Metrolinx. His start date is October 1, 2017.

Rob Prichard, Chairman of the Metrolinx Board, pointed to the unique set of criteria in Metrolinx’s search:

“We’re implementing a $34-billion transit build — the biggest transit investment in Ontario’s history and one of the largest in the world today. We’re quadrupling the number of weekly GO Train trips — from 1,500 to 6,000. We’re electrifying key GO rail lines to provide 15-minute express service all day long throughout the region, and we’re building new LRT lines to tie the region together.

At ScotRail, Verster oversaw the delivery of $3 billion of new electrification of the Scottish railroad.

Most recently, at the East West Railway, Verster led successful efforts to re-launch the project through creative partnerships with the municipalities and local leaders it will serve while simultaneously designing and engineering the project in the most cost-effective way.