The Toronto Transit Commission announced Andy Byford will become the TTC’s first chief operating officer (COO). Byford will join the TTC in November from Sydney, Australia where he was COO of RailCorp.

Before joining RailCorp in 2009, he held several positions in the U.K., including operations and safety director at South Eastern Trains, as well as GM at London Underground.

Byford’s appointment follows an international search conducted to fill the senior operations position at the TTC, formerly the GM of operations. The title change and role is in keeping with organizational structures in large urban transit systems around the world.

In addition to overseeing TTC operations, Byford will act as deputy chief GM.