Railway Age 2025 Railroader of the Year, CSX’s Joe Hinrichs

Railway Age’s 2025 Railroader of the Year is CSX President and
Chief Executive Officer Joe Hinrichs, who joined the railroad
industry in September 2022 and in a little more than two years has
made immediate and long-term positive impacts. His collaborative
approach to labor relations—for example, CSX being the first Class
I to offer paid sick leave and forge preliminary agreements with
its unions prior to the start of national bargaining—has gone a
long way toward transforming the dynamic between management and
rail labor from adversarial distrust to engaged problem-solving.
Hinrichs firmly believes that for CSX to fully realize its growth
potential, labor and management must function as one team, with
mutual respect and trust. He knows that change is difficult, but he
also knows it’s necessary. And as a long-time railroad customer in
his prior role as President of Ford Motor Company, he knows the
importance of providing good service. CSX’s overall excellent
performance is a testament to that. Joe Hinrichs—only the third CSX
executive to be named Railroader of the Year (he was preceded by
Michael Ward in 2009 and Hays Watkins in 1984)—will be presented
with the award at the traditional dinner hosted by the Western
Railway Club at the Union League Club of Chicago on March 11, 2025.
He sat down with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono at
CSX’s Jacksonville, Fla., headquarters for this interview.