The South Shore Line’s operator will have a new leader, starting next month. David Dech will take over as president of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District on March 16.
He says he liked the idea of returning to the Midwest, since he and his wife are originally from Northeast Ohio. “The people in the Midwest, those are our people, and we thought this would be a great place for us to go,” Dech said.
He comes to NICTD from the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees the Tri-Rail commuter service. He previously worked with Capital Metro in Texas and the freight railroad CSX.
Dech said getting people where they need to go is very fulfilling, but he admits that the challenges in running passenger trains are very different from freight. "When I was at CSX, you know, a coal train didn’t complain," Dech said with a laugh. "So, you’ve got to figure out how to make sure you get that customer service side, and really, that was very different for me, moving over to passenger."
He said working at Tri-Rail has also taught him about dealing with elected officials at the state and local levels. “I think that really is probably the biggest thing I’ve learned coming up to Northern Indiana is that we are a part of the community, and as quickly as I can get in and establish myself and get to know everybody and start building those relationships, the better,” Dech added.
So far, he says he’s impressed with Hoosier leaders’ level of knowledge of the South Shore Line. He said he’s also looking forward to operating a railroad directly again, after his last two railroads used outside contractors.
When it comes to convincing motorists to try the train, Dech said the most important things are being safe and on time. Beyond that, he thinks it’s helpful to give new riders a chance to try it when they’re not on their way to work. "The process can be somewhat intimidating," Dech noted. "You know, they don’t know how to use a vending machine. They don’t know how the tickets work. They don’t know how getting on the train works."
He said Tri-Trail has tried to address this by making videos, hosting events and offering discounts on weekends.
Dech will be just the third president in NICTD’s nearly 50-year history. Under a three-year contract approved by the NICTD Board in January, he’ll earn a starting salary of $325,000 a year, plus one percent of freight fees paid to NICTD. The contract also includes a $50,000 moving and relocation allowance and the use of a vehicle.
The outgoing president, Mike Noland, earned a total of almost $779,000 last year, according to public employee compensation records. Noland will keep working with NICTD until August, to help with the transition and finish the West Lake Corridor project, at which point he plans to retire from the railroad.
