MTA taps Troup for ESA

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has appointed veteran railway engineering professional Arthur R. “Rob” Troup as Senior Program Executive of the MTA Long Island Rail Road East Side Access (ESA) project. MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber announced Troup’s appointment on Sept. 24.

Troup will succeed William Goodrich, who has led ESA since 2014 and is retiring after a distinguished 40-year career in civil engineering and project management, having also held leadership positions on such projects as Phase 1 of MTA New York City Transit’s Second Avenue Subway and Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel.

“Bill led both the Second Avenue Subway project—New York City’s biggest expansion of the subway system in 50 years—as well as East Side Access,” Lieber said. “We have all learned from Bill, and value the incredible commitment and professionalism he has modeled for all of us at the MTA.”

Troup will ESA’s top ranking official, MTA said. Currently, he is Deputy General Manager of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). He served in the same position for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) from 2010 to 2015. At both agencies, he was responsible for implementing multi-billion-dollar five-year capital programs while overseeing daily operations and safety.

Troup managed Phase I of WMATA’s Silver Line extension, as well as delivery and testing of the agency’s 7000 Series railcars, its newest.

Troup brings prior experience with the LIRR and the New York Metropolitan Area rail system to ESA. He served as Amtrak’s System Engineering Manager for multiple signal construction projects on the Northeast Corridor New York Division from 1979 to 1995. As Assistant Vice President at SYSTRA Consulting, Inc., Troup managed review of ESA-related signal design and contractor specifications for Harold Interlocking.

“East Side Access is making dramatic progress, and Rob has what it takes to get it to the finish line on time in 2022,” Lieber said. “With more than 40 years of experience in public transportation—including construction in densely populated urban environments—he knows what it takes to get a complex project like this built.”

Troup said completing ESA is a priority for the MTA, and called the project “a necessary precondition” for several critical regional investments. “This project is massive, and this challenge is exciting,” he said. “I look forward to bringing this project to completion.”

Troup, who was educated at Columbia Southern University and holds an Engineering Technician certification from the United Kingdom Engineering Council, has been a frequent presenter at Railway Age conferences.