Ron Batory began his railroad career in 1971 working for the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton (DT&I) Railroad. In 1994, after holding leadership positions at various railroads, Batory was named President of the Belt Railway Company of Chicago (BRC), the largest switching terminal in the U.S., jointly owned at the time by nine Class I railroads. His success at the BRC prompted CSX and Norfolk Southern Corporation to recruit him in 1998 to manage the partitioning of Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) as part of the merger. In 2004, Batory became President & Chief Operating Officer of Conrail until his retirement in April 2017. Mr. Batory went on to serve as U.S. Department of Transportation FRA Administrator from 2018 to 2021.