William Lyman

As Chief Transportation Officer, Lyman was responsible for Santa Fe’s locomotive and freight car management and freight train schedules. He retired in 1993 and began a consulting practice in railway operations. Between consulting assignments he served as Chief Transportation Officer for Transportation Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) in 1997-1998 and as Senior Vice President-Operations for Kansas City Southern in 1999. He returned to consulting in 2000.  

During his consulting career, he

• Served as mentor to the vice president of operations for KCS de Mexico
• Wrote & implemented the transportation plan for TFM, (now KCS de Mexico)
• Developed schedules, equipment and operating plans for an intermodal company
• Assessed transportation plans and recommended changes to railroad operations for Class 1 and Regional railroads
• Recommended capacity and operating improvements for Class 1 railroads
• Provided critiques of the Panama Canal Railway operating plan
• Developed the railroad clearance envelope for a new automobile-carrying rail car
• Managed a service scheduling project for the Association of American Railroads
• Performed due diligence for small and large railroad acquisitions
• Recommended operating changes for short-line railroads
• Served as an expert witness in ICC and STB freight rate proceedings
• Served as an expert witness in ICC and STB railroad merger proceedings (for both railroad and railroad clients)
• Served as an expert witness in federal court proceedings
• Provided advice in a railway car hire dispute
• Assisted a local government with reconstruction of railroad passenger station

His career at Santa Fe was preceded by service as a Supply Corps officer in the U. S. Navy.  He holds a Master of Arts degree in Agricultural Economics from Washington State University and was a partner in the family wheat ranch operations in 1975-76. He later attended management programs at University of Southern California and at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. He was a Certified Member of the American Society of Transportation and Logistics. Lyman is a policy advisor to The Heartland Institute.

Lyman is a member and past president of Bethel United Church of Christ, Elmhurst, the Rotary Club of Elmhurst, and the Western Railway Club, and a member of the Union League Club of Chicago, the U.S. Naval Institute, and the Elmhurst YMCA. He and Linda are residents of Elmhurst, Illinois and have two daughters and one granddaughter.

• 312-377-4000
• [email protected]