Pederson Elevated to VP, Multimodal Logistics at GAR

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor

David Pederson, Vice President, Multimodal Logistics, Gulf & Atlantic Railways, LLC

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Gulf & Atlantic Railways, LLC (GAR) has appointed David Pederson to Vice President, Multimodal Logistics, following its acquisition last fall of Pioneer Valley Railroad (PVRR) and Railroad Distribution Services (RDS) from Pinsly Railroad Company, where he served as Vice President and General Manager for both entities.

PVRR is a Class III located in Westfield, Mass., and serves more than a dozen customers, two of which are RDS warehouse locations.

In his new role, Pederson will be responsible for working alongside GAR’s business development team “to replicate the RDS model” on other GAR short lines, according to the railroad company, which also owns Northern Indiana Railroad Company; Camp Chase Rail, LLC; Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad LLC (CKIN); Vermilion Valley Railroad LLC; Grenada Railroad, LLC, a 2021 Honorable Mention in Railway Age’s Short Line and Regional Railroad of the Year Awards program; Florida, Gulf & Atlantic Railroad, LLC; and two rail-served warehouses.

Pederson grew up in warehousing, trucking, and logistics where he learned his family’s business from the ground up, according to GAR. After earning a B.A. in business management from the University of St. Thomas, he joined J.B. Hunt Transportation, starting in its management trainee program at the Roseville, Minn., intermodal terminal. Pederson was later promoted to the General Manager position in New England. He joined the PVRR/RDS team in 2017 and has been “instrumental in the development and growth of both businesses,” GAR said.

Pederson will be succeeded at PVRR/RDS by Matt Lane who is being elevated to General Manager of both entities. Lane joined Arkansas Midland Railroad Company, then owned by Pinsly, in 1999 as a trainman and held various leadership roles before transferring to PVRR in 2017 to serve as Assistant General Manager.

“Matt is an industry leader with decades of experience in traditional railroad operations, and with Dave’s warehousing logistics skillset as a valuable new offering to our customers, we look forward to growing new business units,” GAR CEO Ryan Ratledge said. “Most importantly, they have both been able to make immediate contributions to our business because they already share our dedication to safety, responsiveness, and pride in product. Like all other aspects of the PVRR/RDS acquisition, we are so thankful Dave and Matt are working with us.”