Legacy Rail Finds a Niche in the Transit Industry

Legacy Rail Finds a Niche in the Transit Industry

Legacy Rail executive team members meet in a Chicago rail station (from left) Richard Newton, EVP Capital Projects; Daryl Brown, VP Operations; Marlene Taylor, VP Capital Projects; Greg White, Co-founder & CEO; Jeff White Co- founder & CEO; Evan White, Chief of Staff; Ronald Heard, EVP Operations

Business experts often say finding and fulfilling the need of a core customer is key to growing a successful business. Chicago-based Legacy Rail Operations, LLC (Legacy Rail) has followed this advice and is building a rail operation consulting firm that is filling a void in the transit rail construction industry by providing the missing link between large transit agencies and design/ build contractors performing rail development projects across the country.

Legacy Rail began operations in 2015, under the leadership of Co-CEOs Jeffrey White and Gregory White, two siblings from Southside Chicago who combined their complementary skills to launch a firm offering unique skill sets and value to the transit industry. Younger brother Jeffrey (Jeff) is a rail operations expert who retired from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) after a distinguished 22-year career. Jeff’s final role at CTA was as the senior manager of CTA’s Operations Control Center, the facility that manages and controls the full complement of trains and buses operated by the agency. Co-CEO Gregory (Greg) is an experienced entrepreneur with a former career as owner of an awardwinning energy company. Greg began his entrepreneurial journey after a successful career as an electrical engineer with 17 years of experience working in the public utility industry.

The co-owners of Legacy Rail first recognized the opportunity to launch a unique consulting firm in the transit industry after Jeff was called out of retirement to help Dulles Transit Partners, a Bechtel Corporation-led team, manage the start-up control center for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Silver Line Phase I project. Jeff was called in after the person initially leading the start-up control center needed to leave suddenly. “I got the call from Bechtel looking for someone with control center operation experience,” Jeff said. “I went in and immediately saw where the agency and the construction firm were bumping heads, so I became the middleman working with them to help the project get back on schedule ... In the end, I helped save about $1 million in lost time and cost overruns.” Greg added, “Jeff was able to add insight that no one else could provide and he became very valuable, very quickly; so, they began to expand his role and give him more assignments.”

The Dulles Transit Partners team commended Jeff’s efforts in a recommendation letter following the project saying, “Jeff White brought with him a wealth of experience in railway operations. Jeff was a key component to the testing commissioning program, including the Dynamic Readiness Testing on the new Silver Line (Phase I). Jeff’s integrity, vision, and foresight helped to shave months off the delivery of the project.”

Jeff discovered that many large transit systems across the country encounter the same obstacles when completing a major rail project. By the end of the WMATA project, Jeff realized that he had the makings of a business opportunity. Jeff talked with his brother Greg about the idea and the two began to put a plan in motion. “I was already an experienced entrepreneur after running the energy company,” Greg said. “That company grew to be listed on Black Enterprise Magazine’s list of the largest African American-owned businesses. Our skills matched up perfectly; Jeff had the rail operations experience and I brought the experience of running a business and all of the executive and administration requirements that come with it.”

The first step to launching the company was reaching out to other retired rail operations leaders from CTA who might be interested in joining with the White brothers. “We pulled together other experienced operations managers that had retired from CTA like Jeff,” Greg said. “It was about 15 people and they all unanimously agreed with the idea and wanted to come on board, so we knew we had something.”

Since beginning in June 2015, with just a few retired CTA professionals, Legacy Rail has grown to more than 50 transit professionals with projections to bring more experts on board in 2019. “We are looking to bring the best of the best on board now,” Jeff said. “And not just retired CTA people, but the best from other large transit systems as well, especially in places where we are doing business.”

Legacy Rail Operations, LLC Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Greg White (left) and Jeff White.

The company’s first major contract began in 2016, when LTK Engineering invited Legacy Rail to team with them on a contract with CTA for the 7000 Series New Car Project, a project to upgrade CTA’s aging rail car fleet. “That project allowed us to bring in different specialties and disciplines, not just control center operations,” Greg said. The company expanded its staff of professionals and now offers an array of passenger rail services including: train operation, dispatching, power substation testing & commissioning, tower operations, signal maintenance/testing & commissioning, rail car maintenance/ testing & commissioning, training & instruction, logistics & operations, and design/build coordination.

In addition to the CTA 7000 Series New Car Project, Legacy teamed with Kiewit Infrastructure to win the CTA Blue Line Signal Upgrade Project. “We are starting to get work through recommendations and word of mouth,” Greg said. “It’s a very small industry, and people from different agencies talk to each other and share their experiences based on our track record.”

The company’s track record was clearly on display when WMATA prepared to complete Phase II of the Silver Line Project. Per the recommendations of WMATA personnel, and based on his successful Phase I experience, the Clark Construction/Kiewit Joint Venture team reached out to Jeff regarding a return to WMATA to lead start-up control center operations for the next phase of the project. “They asked if we had a team; and based on our previous meetings with retired CTA managers, we already had people ready to go,” Jeff said. The Legacy Rail team initially sent two professionals to the project to address issues in the field involving safety and start-up control management.

“We helped create a smooth transition between WMATA and the Clark/Kiewit team,” Jeff said. “We made it possible for all parties to perform well together based on our knowledge of what is required from an operations standpoint to complete the projects safely and on time.”

The company shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Legacy Rail is currently pursuing additional contracts – along with new opportunities at CTA –and is DBE certified in the states of New York, Massachusetts and Georgia, with plans to expand operations into these markets as well. “Our company is at a point now where we are becoming a part of a design/build firm’s strategy,” Jeff said. “We are getting involved in the design phase to help firms understand how their design will impact service – and to help develop the plan and project schedule.”