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Joe Boardman, Former Amtrak CEO, Dies

Joe Boardman, Former Amtrak CEO, Dies

Former Amtrak CEO Joseph H. Boardman died while on vacation with family on March 7 after complications from a stroke days before. Boardman was a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam before moving into the field of transportation. In 1997 he was named New York State Transportation Commissioner, a post he held for eight years. Boardman was confirmed as Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration in 2005, and managed and developed many safety and regulatory initiatives for both freight and passenger rail.

At the end of 2008, he was appointed to a one-year term as president and CEO of Amtrak, an appointment that was extended indefinitely in 2010. Boardman became the second-longest serving executive of Amtrak, only surpassed by W. Graham Claytor, Jr. During his tenure, Boardman helped usher in an era of modernization with purchases of new ACS-64 electric locomotives, new Viewliner II baggage, sleeping, and dining cars, and new Alston Liberty electric trainsets to replace the aging Acelas on the Northeast Corridor.

Boardman was a life-long resident of New York State, and is survived by his wife Joanne, three children, and several grandchildren

—Passenger Train Journal

This article was posted on: March 7, 2019