Wheel Rail Seminars to hold dedicated rail transit event in 2025

May 28, 2024

The event will be devoted to examining wheel/rail and vehicle/track interaction on light-rail and subway operations.

Gordon Bachinsky, Wheel-Rail Seminars founder, speaks during WRI2024 Rail Transit Seminar on May 21 in Rosemont, Ill.

Following 29 years of events dedicated to the examination and discussion of the wheel-rail interface, Wheel Rail Seminars will hold two events in 2025 with one dedicated to heavy haul and one dedicated to rail transit.

The Wheel Rail Interaction (WRI) 2025 Rail Transit Conference will be held in Seattle, Wash., in the fall. The conference will feature a redesigned course on the Principles of Wheel/Rail Interaction that will focus on practical understanding of the science behind the fundamental aspects of wheel/rail interaction as they relate to rail transit systems.

According to analysis in the American Public Transportation Association 2023 Fact Book, there were 97 streetcar, heavy, commuter, hybrid or light-rail systems operating in the U.S., which is a significant increase from the approximately 53 rail transit systems in the U.S. that were operational when WRI held its first conference.

“The increasing interest in and attendance at the annual WRI conference by people in the rail transit segment of the industry convinced us that it was time to create a stand-alone rail transit conference with its own dedicated Principles Course and InfoZones,” said Wheel Rail Seminars Founder Gordon Bachinsky.

Sound Transit will serve as the local host for the WRI 2025 Rail Transit Conference and Mass Transit will continue to serve as the transit conference’s media partner.

About the Author

Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director

Mischa Wanek-Libman serves as editor in chief of Mass Transit magazine and group editorial director of the Infrastructure and Aviation Group at Endeavor Business Media. She is responsible for developing and maintaining the editorial direction of the group and is based in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Wanek-Libman has spent more than 20 years covering transportation issues including construction projects and engineering challenges for various commuter railroads and transit agencies. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.

She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and serves as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.

She is a graduate of Drake University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a major in magazine journalism and a minor in business management.