People News: Pioneer Lines, SMART
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Pictured: Matthew Service, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Pioneer Lines (left); and Eddy Cumins, General Manager, Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit
Pioneer Lines has named Matthew Service Senior Vice President of Corporate Development. In addition, California's Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) has appointed Eddy Cumins General Manager, succeeding Farhad Mansourian.
At Pioneer, Service will be part of the Denver, Colo.-based short line holding company’s leadership team and will focus on mergers and acquisitions. A 15-year railroader, he served most recently as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President for Patriot Rail and Ports, where he oversaw the company’s network of rail operations across the U.S and led M&A. Service began his railroad career with OmniTRAX and has also held senior roles at CSX.
“Matt is an excellent addition to our Pioneer team,” Pioneer Lines President and CEO Alex Yeros said. “We are pleased to have someone of his caliber join us at this critical stage of our company’s development. Matt has the experience, creativity and energy to implement our disciplined investment strategy and to drive the opportunities that lie ahead.”
The company, formerly known as Pioneer Railcorp, unveiled its new name and logo in May.
The SMART Board of Directors approved the appointment of Cumins on Oct. 20. Effective Nov. 29, he will take over as leader of the passenger rail agency from Farhad Mansourian, who announced his retirement earlier this year.
Cumins is currently Chief Operating Officer of Utah Transit Authority (UTA), where he leads 2,234 employees who provide commuter rail, light rail, fixed route bus, route deviation, paratransit, vanpool, rideshare and coordinated mobility management services for 43 million riders annually. He is also responsible for the agency’s asset management program, maintenance of way, and transit police. Cumins served previously as Regional General Manager of UTA’s Mt. Ogden Business Unit. Before joining UTA in 2011, he served for 20 years in the United States Air Force.
