Gerald Gionet, President, GIO Rail Holdings
With over five decades of experience, GIO Rail Owner and Chief Officer, Gerald Gionet has worked at every level of the railway industry. Starting his career as a Train Crew Caller, he was responsible for making sure all trains were manned in a timely fashion. He quickly moved up the ranks, completing training and passing all exams to qualify as a Conductor/Locomotive Engineer. For 17 years, he operated both freight and passenger trains over the Northern Mainline of Canadian Pacific.
In the 1990s, Mr. Gionet moved into management, first as a Road Foreman of Engines, administering all locomotive training and moving new engineers into their positions, then as a Road Manager, and finally as Manager of Road Operations.
In 2008, he became Superintendent of Road/Yard Operations, providing leadership accountability for inputs and outputs of safety, service, productivity, financial metrics, and as a role model of corporate values, including regulatory compliance. In 2014, he retired from Canadian Pacific, and after a brief break, started the next chapter of his career as the Founder and Owner of GIO Rail Holdings. In 2016, Mr. Gionet took over as president of Trillium Railways, which GIO Rail purchased in 2018.
Throughout his career, Mr. Gionet has been an industry thought leader. His interest in technology helped him to develop valuable tools, including developing the technology to build Train Handling Guidelines for all territories in the CP system. He also designed a database to track all Proficiency Testing Inputs and subsequent actions to ensure proper regulatory compliance. Mr. Gionet has won numerous awards throughout his career, including two President’s Awards and a System Safety Award.
