February 8, 2026 - TRA Newswire - 

University and college students from North Texas that have an interest in anything passenger or freight rail will want to sign up for a one-day symposium later this month in Dallas. 

The UNT-Dallas School of Business and Texas Rail Advocates are teaming up to present the first in a series of Academic Rail Symposiums on Friday, February 27 at the University of North Texas - Dallas campus.

The Academic Rail Symposium is open to the first 85 students registered for the event and there is no charge for the presentations, with lunch included.

The symposium runs from 8:00am to 2:00pm at the University of North Texas Dallas campus. 

Experts will speak on topics of rail technology, engineering, passenger rail development, logistics and supply chain management.  

The event is designed to acquaint university students with trends and developments that make for a safer, more efficient, sustainable and reliable rail transportation system in the U.S. Participants will hear from rail industry experts and be able to explore opportunities in aspects of passenger and freight rail transportation careers. 

Registration is required for the Rail Symposium and can be made through this link.

Presentations at the symposium:

8:00 am

Introduction of Texas Rail Advocates

Peter LeCody, President

Peter leads the 501(c)3 grass-roots non-profit that supports the smart development of freight and passenger rail projects that benefit the Texas economy

8:15 am

Rail Technology

Kenneth Mannka, Executive Vice-President - Operations, Nexxiot, inc

Kenneth has over 25 years experience in transportation operations, safety, training and compliance in the railroad industry

Across rail, maritime, and intermodal operations, Nexxiot works with asset owners and operators to turn visibility into better decisions, stronger reliability, and more efficient supply chains.

Passenger Rail Technologies

Ian Hodkinson, Technical and Business Development Director, Transit Systems - Alstom.

Ian is involved in business development opportunities and turnkey contracts of all kinds, whether light rail, hybrid, hydrogen and battery propulsion systems or high speed. 

Different types of passenger rail systems which exist, the differences between them, and a macroscopic view of the main components of a rail network and how they work. Ian is involved in understanding authorities’ transit planning needs, and helping them achieve those objectives through selection of the best technological solutions for mass transit 

10:15 am

Right-of Way Acquisitions / Survey and Subsurface Utility Engineering

Philip Stach, Vice President, Director of Operations

Travis Looney, Vice-President, Director of Utility Coordination,  LSW Land Services

Philip is a professional in the engineering and land services industry, overseeing land acquisition and utility coordination on major linear projects. Travis leads survey and subsurface utility engineering on major highway and rail projects in Texas.

11:00 am 

Service Design - Bringing It All Together

Kal Silverberg, Lead Consultant, One Track Mind Consulting, LLC

Kal spent over 41 years in the railroad industry, in support services including transportation, marketing, intermodal, customer service, equipment and technology  

12:00 noon

Lunch

1:00 pm

Fireside Chat: People, Pathways and Perspective Shaping Rail

Nathan Chaney, Michelle Gonzales Bowling, Allen Rutter

Nathan is the founder of Supply Chaney, a media and marketing startup on a mission to be a creative supply chain resource 

Michelle is a Director of Transportation and Service Practice at Oliver Wyman with over 20 years experience at BNSF and Watco 

Allen is a Senior Research Scientist and Freight Analysis Program Manager at Texas A&M University Texas Transportation Institute