The Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority has named Graham Christie, a Southern California rail leader, as its chief operating officer following a national search for what is a new position being added to the intergovernmental agency serving both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Christie comes to the position after spending 10 years at HNTB Corporation, an infrastructure design firm. He previously worked at consulting firms RailPros Inc. and AECOM.
“Graham provides more than 30 years of highly valued experience and leadership in the rail industry, particularly in California,” said ACTA CEO Michael Lee. “He is a seasoned engineer who has been a project manager for more than 100 critically needed and complex rail projects and programs, including high-speed, commuter and freight rail systems.”
The addition of a COO to ACTA’s leadership structure stems from an analysis of the agency’s operations. The study determined ACTA needed a position to oversee certain critical functions of the intergovernmental agency, which is responsible for operating an efficient rail route serving the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the nation’s busiest port complex, according to a news release.
“I’m honored by this appointment,” said Christie, who lives on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, according to his LinkedIn page, “and as a Southern California resident, I look forward to assisting one of the region’s most important rail authorities.”
Christie, in a statement, said he’s spent much of his career in “planning, engineering design, construction management and interfacing with train operators and tenant railroads on projects that involve construction in a live railroad environment.”
In his new role at ACTA, he said, he will work with utility owners, freight railroad owners, local jurisdictions, the California Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Railroad Administration.
He has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from UC Davis and is a licensed civil engineer in California.
ACTA was formed under the joint-powers authority of the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach and oversees the dedicated section of railway from the two ports into downtown Los Angeles (the “corridor”). The 20-mile train express way, designed to speed goods to market, opened in 2002.
The more than $2 billion project was also designed to improve conditions in impacted communities by consolidating three circuitous rail routes into a single route along Alameda Street, a direct route that enables trains to operate efficiently at 40 miles per hour and eliminates more than 200 at-grade crossings along the way.
The corridor also provides more capacity for trains to handle cargo, reducing the burden on trucks and lessening congestion on regional freeways.