Mark Salsberg, P.Eng.

Mark Salsberg is a Professional Engineer in Ontario and Alberta. He is co-Principal of WGD Consulting, a specialized systems engineering consulting firm with over 40 engineers and consultants focused on passenger rail infrastructure for systems assurance, system integration and cyber security. He is also co-founder and Chairperson of TRACCS Transit and Rail, a non-profit association with over 130 members around the world, including all the major transit agencies across Canada. TRACCS is focused on improving the standards and safety for rail contractors, maintainers and operators across Canada.

Every year, TRACCS hosts over 3,000 people at our annual Rail Day, bringing industry leads and stakeholders from around the world together to share innovations, technology, lessons learned, and best practices. This year, we are hosting it on May 13-14th at the International Convention Centre in Mississauga, ON.

A serial entrepreneur, Mark is a strategic, energetic, and creative executive with multifaceted technical experience, bringing solutions from ideas to fruition in the infrastructure space. Mark graduated from McMaster University with an Electrical Engineering and Management degree and an MBA in Strategy and Sustainability from the Schulich School of Business.

Mark enjoys travelling, especially by train/transit, as much as possible, skiing and playing tennis with his wife and kids.

Synopsis of Presentation:

After many years of underinvestment in transit and passenger-rail infrastructure, Canada is undergoing an overdue and unprecedented expansion. However, our ability to deliver top-quality projects at globally competitive costs – and within reasonable time frames – must improve significantly if we’re to sustain this newfound momentum. We must also improve public confidence and educate our politicians on the economic importance of continually funding critical rail systems.

This country’s long-developing infrastructure deficit has left us with levels of congestion in metro areas that imperil Canada’s competitiveness – both economically and in the quality of our daily lives. Decades of inactivity and underinvestment have also stripped us of the institutional memory, professional expertise and skilled labour force needed to catch up as fast as we would like.