Wes Coates is Senior Technical Advisor- Practice Lead for Rail Operations for HNTB and has a background in rail passenger operations and railroad electrifications. He has focused his career on the operation of both commuter and intercity passenger rail operations. During his career Wes has visited passenger railroads, throughout, the United States, Europe, Chile, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Projects that he has supported New York State – High Speed Rail Program, work with Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor, projects with the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North Railroad and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority in Philadelphia.
Wes brings over 40 years of experience in the operation of passenger railroads, having been the General Manager for Amtrak’s Empire Corridor in Albany-Rensselaer, New York, along with experience in passenger train operations with New Jersey Transit and Conrail. Wes has a Bachelor of Arts from Lycoming College in Managerial Economics and an MBA from Sage Graduate School, in Albany, New York. He has actively supported passenger rail operations in New York State for over the past twenty years. Wes also shares a keen interest in railroad operations and based on his experience with passenger railways was elected a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Railway Operators in the United Kingdom and is a member of the American Association of Railroad Superintendent, and the Lexington Group in Transportation History). He has lifelong interest in railroad and transportation history and belongs railroad historical societies in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and New Zealand.