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New Westminster, B.C. – Southern Railway of British Columbia (“SRY”), a major transporter of freight in British Columbia and Blue Water Rail Services (“BWRS”), a terminal operating railway serving port facilities, both part of the Washington Companies, today announced that Kevin Poulin, SRY’s Director Corporate Finance, will succeed Gerald Linden as President of the Companies, effective March 10th. Mr. Linden is retiring after 19 years, serving as President since November 2019 and previously as Director Business Development.
“I am excited at the opportunity to lead SRY and BWRS, companies that I have been proud to serve in numerous capacities over the course of my career,” said Mr. Poulin. “I look forward to continuing to work together with our supply chain partners to provide the highest level of service and satisfaction to our customers. Collaborating with an exceptional team of leaders in both organizations, our objectives are to operate safely and provide seamless rail connections to markets throughout North America.”
“Our philosophy at the Washington Companies has always been focused on developing exceptional talent,” said Derek Ollmann, Chief Executive Officer, Washington Companies Transportation. “The bench strength of our leaders across our organizations and the value they bring is a testament to the success of that philosophy. Since Kevin joined SRY more than 19 years ago, he has contributed greatly to SRY’s success and the effective startup of BWRS.”
Taking over as Director, Corporate Finance with responsibility over Finance, Facilities and Technology will be Allyn Edwards. Mr. Edwards originally joined SRY in 2019 as Controller. “It’s great to have Allyn back at SRY and BWRS and part of the senior leadership team.” said Mr. Poulin. “We have some significant projects to complete over the next several years and having someone with Allyn’s expertise and passion is vitally important to achieving success.”
About Kevin Poulin
Mr. Poulin began his career at the railway in 2006. With the completion of his CPA, CMA professional certification in 2008 his corporate financial responsibilities increased over the next 13 years with promotion to Director, Corporate Finance in 2019. Mr. Poulin has a Bachelor of Accounting from BCIT.
About Allyn Edwards
Since joining SRY Rail Link in February 2019, Allyn has held multiple roles, most notably as Financial Controller. Prior to joining SRY, Allyn primarily worked in the Construction Industry, with a focus on Technology, Financial Planning & Analysis, and Continuous Improvement initiatives. Allyn holds the CPA, CGA designation in addition to a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Douglas College.
About Southern Railway of British Columbia (SRY)
Southern Railway of British Columbia (SRY) is a major transporter of freight in British Columbia. Based in New Westminster, we provide businesses and customers located in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley with seamless rail connections to markets throughout North America. SRY owns over 125 miles of track and interchanges with four North American Class 1 railroads: CPR, BNSF, CN, and UP. Southern Railway of Vancouver Island Limited, a related company, operates over 120 miles of track on Vancouver Island. Southern Railway of Vancouver Island offers freight service to points on Vancouver Island and is connected to the Lower Mainland by SRY’s Annacis Rail Marine Terminal.
About Blue Water Rail Services (BWRS)
Blue Water Rail Services is a leading transportation services provider in Western Canada focused on providing the highest level of safety performance to deliver continued value to our customers. We currently provide rail services to customer locations in the Lower Mainland at local marine port terminals, with a focus on expanding our services of first and last mile delivery throughout Western Canada. We offer a wide breadth of railway operational experience including terminal rail operations, logistics, switching services, engineering and mechanical services, railcar repair, and track and maintenance of way services.
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Emily Mak
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Tel. 604-527-6329
