Random Article Summary #113

Rail World is a company that owns and manages rail transport businesses. It works in areas like running railways, offering advice, investing money, and helping with privatizations and business restructuring. The company’s main goal is to support the privatization of the rail industry. It does this by connecting government organizations that want to sell their ownership stakes with investors who can provide capital. It also offers management skills to help make those transitions more effective. Rail World was incorporated in July 1999 by Edward Burkhardt, who serves as President and Chief Executive Officer. The company’s assets include Rail Polska in Poland and Baltic Rail OU in Estonia. Rail World has several subsidiaries that handle different parts of rail business. These include AS Baltic Rail OU, which runs container train services, Rail Polska for freight railway operations, and Rail World Locomotive Leasing for leasing locomotives. It also has Rail World Ukraine, which provides freight forwarding services. After the July 6, 2013 derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec that left 47 people dead or missing, MM&A president Edward Burkhardt visited the town on July 10 and faced anger from residents over the company’s response. Concerns also grew about the railway’s safety, as data showed it had a higher accident rate than most of the US rail fleet. On August 7, MM&A sought bankruptcy protection, and it was reported to owe millions for cleanup and worker severance, with more liabilities likely as lawsuits proceed. The Canadian Transportation Agency later revoked MM&A’s operating certificate due to insufficient liability insurance, preventing the company from running in Canada. Eesti Raudtee owned 25.5% of Rail World from August 2001 until January 2007. After January 2007, Eesti Raudtee was no longer a subsidiary under this arrangement.