Amtrak Names Laura Mason EVP of Major Program Delivery

WASHINGTON – Amtrak today named Laura Mason as Executive Vice President of Major Program Delivery to lead a new organization responsible for delivering Amtrak’s largest infrastructure, fleet and station programs. She will join the company on June 28, reporting to Amtrak President Stephen Gardner, and will be a member of the company’s executive leadership team.

“As we celebrate 50 years of connecting America, we must also look to the country’s future transportation needs and challenges,” said Amtrak President Stephen Gardner. “With well over $40 billion of critical infrastructure, station and fleet investments in the planning and development phase, Laura will bring focused executive experience and leadership to the task of turning our ambitious plans into reality.” 

In her role, Mason will lead Amtrak’s strategy in developing the company’s largest-scale and most complex projects. She will coordinate with Amtrak stakeholders and external partners to successfully deliver these projects as efficiently and effectively as possible, in compliance with all safety, regulatory, and program management and reporting requirements.

For the past five years, Mason has served in a variety of leadership roles with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), commonly referred to as Metro, a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. As Executive Vice President of Capital Delivery, she was responsible for project management, engineering and construction of major capital projects, infrastructure renewal, capital program planning, and the scheduling and contracting strategy for WMATA’s entire capital program.

In other roles at WMATA, Mason oversaw engineering, maintenance, transportation, and control center functions for fixed infrastructure and rolling stock. As Chief of Maintenance of Way Engineering, she drove rail safety and reliability through improved maintenance, track allocation and new technology. From 2016-2017, Mason served as director of SafeTrack, a year-long emergency track work program to accelerate three years’ work into one year.

Prior to WMATA, Mason spent 12 years at Bechtel Corp., an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company, where she served in a wide range of roles.