Executive Team
Shawn I. Smith
President
Mr. Smith has over 40 years of experience in the North American railroad industry. Prior to forming Dominion Railway Services in August 2012, Mr. Smith spent six years at Canadian Pacific – his last executive position being General Manager, Strategic Network Development and Interline Management. In this role he also had responsibility for network capacity planning and implementation across the CP system. Before joining CP, Mr. Smith spent 18 years in the regional and short line industry in both Canada and the United States as an operating employee, supervisor, and senior executive. Mr. Smith began his career with Canadian National Railways, serving in both operations and marketing/customer service positions. He has maintained a lifetime interest in railroading and is a member of the American Association of Railroad Superintendents, the Canadian Railway Club and the Lexington Group. Mr. Smith is a qualified conductor and track inspector, and a past board member of the Toronto Terminals Railway Company and the Railway Association of Canada. Mr. Smith, his wife Karen, and their two boys reside in Camrose, just southeast of Edmonton, Alberta.
In addition to his consulting work as a Senior Associate of Dominion Railway Services, Mr. Smith remains an active operating executive in the industry, serving as Executive Consultant of the Northern Plains Rail Companies, and Chief Transportation Officer of the Boundary Trail Railway.
W.J. (Bill) Salmond, M.A.Sc.
Vice President, Operations Development
Mr. Salmond has over 50 years of experience in the North American railroad industry. Since joining DRS in January 2013 he has assisted over 50 separate clients including energy companies, agri-industry, railways, and trans-load operators. His specialty is the provision of advice to industrial rail operators in the combined areas of track design, operations, capacity assessments, and options for connections to Class 1 railways that will provide cost effective and efficient solutions for new and expanded rail facilities. Prior to joining DRS, Mr. Salmond enjoyed a successful career at Canadian Pacific where he held operating, supervisory, training, and senior operations planning positions. He is a qualified train dispatcher and has extensive network operations centre expertise. In 1999, Mr. Salmond became involved in the detailed planning and implementation of rail network capacity projects together with important industrial development projects across the CP system. He was instrumental in the planning and strategy behind many of the critical capital projects required to expand the capacity of important main line corridors including those between Moose Jaw and Vancouver, Calgary to Edmonton, and Moose Jaw to Chicago. Mr. Salmond and his wife Joanne have two adult children and five grandchildren, and reside in Calgary, Alberta.
Mr. Salmond also remains actively engaged in the operations of north American railroading as a senior transportation officer responsible for network and operating practices planning for the Boundary Trail Railway Company.
Karen Smith
Vice President, Administration
Karen is responsible for administrative duties and direction at both Dominion Railway Services and Northern Plains Logistics Canada. Her experience includes 15 years in the agricultural industry, most recently with Cargill. A graduate of the University of Alberta, Karen has experience in transportation logistics and in research and development of specialty canola oils. She participates in project work and handles our accounts payable, receivable, and IT support issues.
Karen has historical family background related to the Canadian Northern Railway and is actively involved in her community, serving as President of the Canadian Northern Society – a group that for over 37 years has actively been preserving railway depots in central Alberta communities.
www.canadiannorthern.ca
Greg Karpo
Senior Operations and Business Development Associate
Greg Karpo is a respected career railroader with over 37 years of operations and business development experience at Canadian National. Starting his career in the signals & communication department, Greg was involved with installing Centralized Traffic Control systems along the “BC North Line” and fibre optics along the transcontinental mainline. After 4 years in signals & communications, Greg joined CN’s transportation department and was soon promoted to locomotive engineer – first operating trains on one of CN’s most difficult operational territories in northern Alberta. Throughout his operating career, Greg was involved and advanced health and safety, and technical training improvements at CN across the western Canadian network. As a company officer, Greg led field training for a new-hire conductor program which involved the hiring, training, evaluation, and follow-up to ensure retention of 750 new conductors.
Greg held transportation management responsibilities for CN’s road and yard operations at Jasper where he oversaw 250 train and engine service employees and over 40 trains per day through a challenging mountain operation. This was followed by a term as Assistant Superintendent responsible for CN’s extensive operations within Alberta’s Industrial Heartland headquartered at Scotford Yard.
In 2014 Greg accepted a promotion to CN’s Business Development department where he became responsible for industrial development and network planning activities in Alberta and Saskatchewan. In this role he oversaw the development of over 50 projects from inception to completion – ranging from projects designed to handle smaller manifest car block shipments, to larger multi-faceted unit train facilities. As an example, he was instrumental in the site selection, design, and implementation of 8 frac sand facilities, concentrated in western and northern Alberta. With Greg’s strong operational experience and background, he also participated in further projects throughout western Canada identifying suitable rail development sites on the network. During his time in this department, Greg remained qualified as a locomotive engineer participating in management assignments throughout the CN network.
In 2021, Greg retired from CN – but not from the industry – and is looking forward to his newest challenge of using his knowledge, experience, and background to help shippers and other rail industry stakeholders with site selection, conceptual design, and operational strategies that align with both industrial and railway requirements. He has chosen to work with Bill Salmond and the Dominion Railway Services team and this combination provides over 90 years of rail operational, planning, transportation services, and operational background to offer our clients