Industry Recognition
Building Generational Railroaders — and Industry Leaders
Railway Age — 2026
John Orr
2026 Railroader of the Year
Railway Age's highest individual honor, recognizing John Orr of Norfolk Southern for exceptional leadership in rail operations and safety performance.
Railway Age Magazine
League of Railway Women — 2025
Diane Barnett
2025 Railway Woman of the Year
Recognized by the League of Railway Women as a people-first solutionist focused on nudging the progress needle — a generational railroader from Norfolk Southern.
Progressive Railroading
We're proud of the work we've done with Norfolk Southern, helping elevate leadership capabilities and enhance safety performance.
Two industry award winners. One client. Generational railroaders.
Discuss How We Can Help Your OrganizationWhat We Do
Safety Culture Transformation — Not Training
Railroad executives have seen too many generic safety consultants with polished slide decks and no operational empathy. The Rail Way is different — we've been on the ground at CN, KCS, and other Class I operators, transforming how crews communicate and how leaders behave.
Our approach is a cultural residency: we embed with your team, transfer capability to internal faculty, and build systems that sustain transformation after we leave.
Featured in Railway Age
Pauline Lipkewich — Contributing Editor
"I am blessed to live in a region where heavy industry thrives. I have the gift of seeing firsthand the fruits of labor that come from calloused hands and dusty work boots."
14+ years in North American rail operations. Grew Rocky Mountaineer group revenue 7x. Worked alongside CN, KCS, and other Class I operators on safety performance and operational effectiveness. Today, she's the rail industry's voice on leadership behavior and culture transformation.
The KBL Team
Meet the Team Behind The Rail Way™
Free Assessment
Is Your Safety Culture a Competitive Advantage?
Find out in about 7 minutes. This pulse check benchmarks your organization against industry best practices across leadership alignment, psychological safety, frontline engagement, and culture sustainability.
Your responses are confidential. Results are delivered upon completion.
Prefer to talk first? Schedule a consultation instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
