Introducing Railroad OP Services LLC

Left to right: JD. Riley, Joe Meade and Bruce Parkin, Railroad OP Services LLC.

Three industry professionals with nearly 140 years of combined experience have joined forces at Railroad OP Services LLC, a new company whose purpose is assisting railroads with audits, rulebook updates and training to improve overall safety culture and public image, and limit financial exposure. Joe Meade and Bruce Parkin, along with company founder JD. Riley, describe themselves as “knowledgeable subject matter experts” who can provide on-site services to determine vulnerabilities, teach safety practices and prepare for Federal Railroad Administration inspections and audits.

JD. Riley, founder of Railroad OP Services LLC, has an MBA in Business Administration and Management, and 50 years of railroad and regulatory experience. He was an administrator of Metro-North’s 49 CFR Part 240 Qualification and Certification Program for Locomotive Engineers, and the FRA’s Operating Practices Division Specialist – Operating Crew Certification Program in Washington, D.C. Riley also was involved with operating crew certification following the 1988 Rail Safety Improvement Act.

Joe Meade has more than 45 years of railroad and regulatory experience as Director of Safety for Brightline Virgin Trains and General Superintendent of NJ Transit Rail Operations, and as an FRA Inspector in the New York Metropolitan Area. He also has 30 years of experience as a Level III Firefighter, with extensive training in Railroad Emergency and Hazardous Material Response.

Bruce Parkin has more than 43 years of railroad and regulatory experience with Penn Central, Conrail and Amtrak, serving as a Trainmaster and Road Foreman of Engines, and with Amtrak’s Acela Product Line. He was a Rail Security Specialist with the Federal Department of Homeland Security, and served as an Operating Practices Safety Inspector for FRA Region 1 in the New York Metropolitan Area. Parkin also completed training at the USDOT Transportation Safety Institute, receiving a Transit Safety and Security Certificate (TSSP) in Transit/Rail.

Railroad OP Services LLC “provides an independent assessment to identify areas at risk, and offers frontline managers and supervisors the knowledge and skill set to manage programs and learn effective methods of operational oversight around rule and regulatory compliance,” Riley notes. “With the spotlight on safety around railroad operations, coupled with our overall passion for the industry, we decided to team up to provide railroads with an independent eye and a ‘boots on the ballast’ approach to safety, regulatory practices and training. By assisting railroads in assessing their vulnerabilities and offering them corrective solutions, we believe we can limit their financial exposure, and improve their public image and overall safety culture.”

Railroad OP Services LLC services include, but are not limited to, training, drafting and filing programs for:

• Compliance with regulations pertaining to Operating Practices – 49 CFR Parts 217, 218,219,225,238,240,242, and 243.
• Part 211 Waiver Petitions.
• Responses for LERB/OCRB Petitions and Appeals.
• FRA Violation Claims Assistance and Services.
• Subject Matter Expert Testimony.
• Accident Investigation.