WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said he has selected David Fink to become administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.
In a post today (Saturday, Dec. 21) on Truth Social, Trump said Fink is a “fifth-generation railroader” who “will bring his 45+ years of transportation leadership and success, which will deliver the FRA into a new era of safety and technological innovation.”
David Armstrong Fink is a former president of Pan Am Railways and son of the late David Andrew Fink, a career railroader who worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad and Penn Central before serving as president of Guilford Transportation, later rebranded as Pan Am Railways.
The younger Fink began his career with General Motors in the 1980s, and became Pan Am Railways president in 2006 after serving as executive vice president in 1998. He remained president through Pan Am’s acquisition by CSX Transportation, a deal announced in 2020 and approved in April 2022 [see “CSX to acquire New England regional …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 30, 2020. He also helped start lumber products firm Aroostook & Bangor Resources.
Chuck Baker, president of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, said in a statement that his organization is “excited to support” Fink’s nomination.
The FRA post requires confirmation by the Senate.
— Updated at 5:15 p.m. CT with ASLRRA statement; updated Dec. 23 at 7:50 a.m. with Amtrak statement.
Not a high profile position so I suppose the monetary bids for it weren’t too high. President Musk will likely eliminate it anyway he hates industry regs.
he is a looser
So the guy who was partially responsible for letting his railroad crumble into dust gets to head up the FRA? At least he’s got experience with the federal grant process.
No surprises here.
Probably would have been better with another airline executive instead of him.
Well, at least he knows what a railroad is.
PanAm Railways infrastructure was run into the ground by the Finks and Mellon. No doubt this Fink walked away with tens of millions from the sale to CSX. One can only imagine what sort of FRA administrator an asset stripper like Fink will be.