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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-15-19 Correspondence - Montana Rail Link to Andrus - Update Stacy Posey Montana Rail Link President Montana Rail Link low • 101 International Drive ' Missoula,MT 59808 Dear Mayor Andrus, Greetings to you and the City of Bozeman from Montana Rail Link.Let me start by introducing myself. As of January 1st, I've taken the helm as President of Montana Rail Link,replacing Tom Walsh who retired in December.I previously served as Vice-President of Operations for Montana Rail Link. I look forward to working with you and your community in 2019. As we do at every job site and meeting at Montana Rail Link,we start with safety first.In 2018,we continued to make strides in reducing incidents and accidents.Since 1997,there has been an 86% reduction in incidents and accidents at MRL.Our work will not be completed until we achieve an accident and incident rate of zero. I'd urge you to visit montanarail.com/safety for more information. We are excited to announce that in 2019,we'll start the process of installing the necessary infrastructure for Positive Train Control or PTC.We are undertaking this process voluntarily,as we believe it's the right thing to do for our company and the communities in which we operate.PTC adds yet another layer of safety for our employees and the communities we serve.Once completed, PTC will be an extraordinarily important technological innovation for our company. In just the last five years,we've invested over$250 million in our infrastructure,replacing hundreds of thousands of ties,installing miles of new rail,and investing in new technologies. Though not yet announced,our 2019 Capital Plan will be the largest in company history. 2018 was a strong year for our company as we moved record amounts of volume across our system. Freight demand both domestically and internationally continues to be robust,and we expect to continue to grow.Looking to the rest of this year,we have the necessary people, infrastructure,and safety culture in place to safely and efficiently move the products we all depend on every day. Montana Rail Link employs 1,200 hardworking Montanans with a payroll of over$137 million.Our employees are involved in every community in which we operate volunteering their time, recreating,sending their kids to school,engaging in the civic process and spending money in the local economy.We count ourselves lucky to live in such a tremendous place. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions,or just to say hello. Kind Regards, i acy Posey President,Montana Rail Link i