Tim O'Toole is an American businessman, and former
chief executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
of
FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, one grandfather was an assistant general manager on the
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P≤ ), also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio, in the ...
, while the other was a
trolley car
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segment ...
driver. After studying law at
La Salle University
La Salle University () is a private university, private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Bapt ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, he attended law school at the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
.
Career
Conrail
After training as a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
, he joined
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...
in 1987 as a Vice President in the legal department, preferring to spend his working days in the train depot at Stanley Yard in Walbridge, Ohio, the primary
classification yard
A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...
for
Toledo
Toledo most commonly refers to:
* Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain
* Province of Toledo, Spain
* Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States
Toledo may also refer to:
Places Belize
* Toledo District
* Toledo Settlement
Bolivia
* Toledo, Or ...
. After serving as Senior Vice President of Law and Government Affairs at subsidiary Consolidated Rail Corporation, he served as Group Vice President and General Counsel from May 1989 to April 1994. Moving into finance and accounting, O'Toole served as Senior Vice President from April 1996.
From 1997, competitors
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...
and the
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
(NS) had been in a
takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast to the acquisi ...
battle for Conrail. However, under an agreement with the
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is an independent federal agency that serves as an adjudicatory board. The board was created in 1996 following the abolition of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and absorbed regula ...
, Norfolk Southern acquired 58 percent of Conrail's assets, including roughly 6,000 Conrail route miles; and CSX received 42 percent of Conrail's assets, including about 3,600 route miles.
The agreement was put in place on August 22, 1998, under which newly appointed Chief Executive O'Toole transferred the lines to two newly formed
limited liability companies
A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
reporting mark
A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects the name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equip ...
s, which had passed to Conrail, were also transferred to the new companies, and NS also acquired the CR reporting mark. Operations under CSX and NS began June 1, 1999.
In three major metropolitan areas -
North Jersey
North Jersey, also known as Northern New Jersey, comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. As a distinct toponym, North Jersey is a colloquial one rather than an a ...
,
South Jersey
South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...
/Philadelphia, and
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
-
Conrail Shared Assets Operations
Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail (reporting mark CRCX), an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Are ...
continues to serve as a terminal operating company owned by both CSX and NS. The Conrail Shared Assets Operations arrangement was a concession made to federal regulators who were concerned about the lack of competition in certain rail markets and logistical problems associated with the breaking up the Conrail operations as they existed in densely populated areas with many local customers. The smaller Conrail operation that exists today serves rail freight customers in these markets on behalf of its two owners. A fourth area, the former
Monongahela Railway
The Monongahela Railway was a coal-hauling Class II railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railr ...
in southwest
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, was originally owned jointly by the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...
(B&O),
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
and
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P≤ ), also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio, in the ...
(P&LE). Conrail absorbed the company in 1993, and assigned
trackage rights
Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies.
Operating
Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...
to CSX, the successor to the B&O and P&LE. With the Conrail breakup, those lines are owned by NS, but the CSX trackage rights are still in place.
O'Toole served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Conrail until 2001, succeeded by Gregory R. Weber.
Since 2008, he has served as both the President of residual Conrail company CRR Holdings LLC that owns the
Conrail Shared Assets Operations
Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail (reporting mark CRCX), an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Are ...
, and is an independent director and member of the Audit Committee at CSX Transportation.
London Underground
While looking to retire, he was offered the job as Managing Director of
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The Undergro ...
. Appointed by
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current ...
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
in 2002, during his tenure O'Toole led the response to the 7/7 terrorist attacks:
In light of his leadership during the terrorist attack, O'Toole was appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
in the 2005 New Years Honours List.
In February 2009, he resigned for personal reasons from his £450,000 position, citing his requirement to spend more time with his wife who was unwilling to move to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
As one of his last acts, O'Toole secured an additional £2bn of support from the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...
in the wake of the collapse of Metronet. O'Toole commented before his exit, that Londoners should "scream bloody murder" if the Metronet upgrade of the
Metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical)
* Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop
** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see"
* Metropolitan ar ...
,
District
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
,
Circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...
and Hammersmith & City lines is delayed or scaled back because of funding problems.
FirstGroup
In May 2009, he was appointed a non-executive on the board of FirstGroup. Appointed Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive in June 2010, in light of the retirement of Sir Moir Lockhead 21 years after founding the group, on 1 November 2010 O'Toole was appointed FirstGroup CEO. On May 31, 2018, O'Toole was asked to step down from his position at FirstGroup due to poor performance.
Personal life
Married to Patricia, the couple have two adult children, son Charlie and daughter Elizabeth. O'Toole and his wife maintain their main home in Philadelphia, while O'Toole has an apartment in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
where he spends around 50% of his time. The O'Tooles also maintain a winter home in Bonita Springs, FL. O'Toole plays
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
off of a 12 handicap, and enjoys reading and travelling.
FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Profile at ''
Business Week
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...