Overview of BNSF, UP, and CN, And the Freight Rail Industry’s Footprint in Chicago
June 6, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
This special noontime webinar is being co-sponsored by the UTC and Transport Chicago. Visit this page to register for Transport Chicago 2025, which will be held June 13 at the voco Chicago Downtown Hotel.
Key topics to be addressed include:
- Technological improvements that BNSF (and much of the industry) is doing to improve air quality around our operations
- Freight/economic trends we are seeing at UP
- The CREATE program – a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership between the freight railroads, Amtrak, Metra, Chicago DOT, IDOT, FHWA/FRA to improve Chicago’s rail transportation network. $2 billion has been spent so far to untangle Chicago’s freight and passenger rail networks, making it more efficient and environmentally friendly
The event will be held via zoom.
Scroll down to register.
Date posted
Apr 21, 2025
Date updated
Apr 21, 2025
Speakers
Peter Skosey | Executive Director, State Government Affairs | BNSF Railway
As Executive Director for public and government affairs, Peter Skosey oversees all of BNSF's interactions with local and state governments in Illinois and Iowa, including monitoring all legislative action in each general assembly, responding to media inquiries and coordinating rail projects within local jurisdictions. Additionally, Skosey oversees the charitable giving for BNSF and manages its Political Action Committee. Today's BNSF Railway is the product of some 390 different railroad lines that merged or were acquired during more than 160 years. BNSF is a critical link that connects consumers with the global marketplace. For more than 160 years, BNSF has played a vital role in building and sustaining this nation's economy.
Tom Evenson | Senior Director of Public Affairs for Illinois and Wisconsin | Union Pacific Railroad
Tom Evenson is Union Pacific’s senior director of Public Affairs for Illinois and Wisconsin, covering state and local government relations, community relations, and philanthropic giving. Union Pacific is the nation’s largest railroad with more than 32,000 miles of track in the western two-thirds of the United States and $24 billion in annual revenue.
Kevin Donahue | State & Local Affairs Manager | Canadian National Railway
Kevin Donahue is a State & Local Affairs Manager for Canadian National, responsible for the development and implementation of strategies to enhance stakeholder relationships with state, municipal, and local government officials to ensure policies that support continued growth. Canadian National transports more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America.