New and familiar faces transforming Conway Yard

Our dedicated railroaders, committed leaders, and labor partners are driving operational excellence together. Delivering significant safety and productivity improvements, the team's progress reflects our culture built on candid communication, collaboration, and accountability.

Pursuing continuous safety improvement, Conway Yard has just four reportable incidents this year. That’s compared to 10 in 2024, and 24 in 2023. The turnabout is a testament to an infusion of committed leadership, a dedicated team embracing Speak Up culture, and clear expectations alongside accountability at every level of the organization. 

“We’ve been very intentional with inclusion of all departments and labor,” said Assistant Superintendent Craig Pequignot. “We’ve also given clear expectations on what a good shift and a good day look like. We hold each other to that standard, and when we have a bad day, we’re focused on how quickly we can rebound.”

That means building on success and learning from the times we miss the mark.

“It’s the committed leadership model that the whole team has employed here,” added Superintendent Bryce Diffenderfer. “Everyone in Conway has a voice that is valued. We’re going to use all ideas to drive forward, learn from every experience, and not repeat mistakes.”

The results extend beyond the core value of safety. Conway is now processing an average of 1,900 cars each day, often exceeding 2,000 cars, up from a recent daily average of 1,600.

“There’s a lot of positive energy right now,” said Jim Stager, Manager Terminal Operations. “There’s communication between all departments that historically we really haven’t seen at Conway. When you roll those things together that’s clearly driving these results.”

When it comes to safety, it’s about getting ownership to the right place, Pequignot explained. Having labor’s involvement is an invaluable part of that. On the service side, it’s about challenging traditional notions of what good looks like.

“People are believing in themselves,” he said. “We’ve been so busy now for so long that the expectation is that this is sustainable.”

It’s a daily process, Pequignot continued, driven by committed leaders like Ryan Blasdel, Sr. Manager Terminal Operations, who are investing in those new to supervisory roles. At the forefront of it all are our dedicated craft employees.

“We’re honing our skills,” Diffenderfer said. “We have some of the finest railroaders on the system in Conway.”