The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) is the leading professional association for railway engineers working together to further the development and advancement of both technical and practical knowledge in the railway industry. Come “roll with AREMA” as we chat with Members from every aspect of the Association. Each episode will contain entertaining and informative stories from our members about their time in the Association and how it has advanced their careers. Hosted By: Walt Bleser, PE, President, ARE Corporation. Information on the railway industry is provided as a service to our members but does not represent an endorsement. Subscribe to your favorite listening service to get episode notifications.
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Contact path
Public web form
Booking probability
31%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchThe American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) is the leading professional association for railway engineers working together to further the development and advancement of both technical and practical knowledge in the railway industry. Come “roll with AREMA” as we chat with Members from every aspect of the Association.
Platform Chats is hosted by AREMA. The show has published 52 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "The Emerging Technology Conversation Continues" (30 October 2026, 59 minutes), "Building on Momentum: Leadership, Collaboration & AREMA's Next Chapter" (16 July 2026, 26 minutes), and "Railroads Move People: A Conversation with Justin Vonashek" (27 May 2026, 38 minutes).
Platform Chats publishes roughly every few months, with episodes averaging 42 minutes across 52 episodes.
Booking probability for Platform Chats is 31%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Platform Chats requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Platform Chats's contact route on record: public web form.
The strongest fits for Platform Chats are Rail Support Services. Platform Chats has an education audience.
AREMA hosts Platform Chats, an education podcast with 52 episodes published.
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Episode #5
<p>The conversation continues from AREMA's Emerging Technology panel at the Annual Conference as host Walt Bleser sits down with Laide Olambiwonnu, Head of Product at Parallel Systems, and Brett A. Story, PhD, Professor...
Episode #4
<p>In this annual Platform Chats tradition, host Walt Bleser welcomes AREMA President Jerry Specht, EIT, Assistant General Manager South S&C Operations, CPKC, and Senior Vice President David Clark, PE, Director...
Episode #3
<p>Platform Chats host Walt Bleser sits down with Metro-North President Justin Vonashek, who turned a last-minute career fair resume into leading one of the nation's busiest commuter railroads. The conversation centers...
Episode #2
<p>The 50th episode of Platform Chats marks a milestone as host Walt Bleser sits down with Anamaria Bonilla, former Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Metro‑North Railroad, to reflect on a...
Episode #1
<p>In this episode, host Walt Bleser sits down with Jared Hopewell, AVP, Communications & Signals at Norfolk Southern, and Jason Schroeder, Assistant Chief Engineer at CSX, to introduce what attendees can expect at the...
Episode #10
<p>In this special follow-up to the Emerging Technologies panel at the AREMA 2025 Annual Conference & Expo in Indianapolis, host Walt Bleser and panelists Doron Cohadier (RailVision) and Jason Schindler (Object...
Episode #9
<p>In this episode, host Walt Bleser chats with the two latest Watford Fellowship recipients, Matt Kirby, PE, MLE, M.ASCE, AVP/Director - Rail Public Projects & Programs at Michael Baker International, and Daniel...
Episode #8
<p>This episode, our host chats with Christopher Barkan, PhD, Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Director of RailTEC, and Peter Masson, Director at TRC and Chair of Technical Committee 13 –...
Episode #8
<p>In this special follow-up to the Emerging Technologies panel at the AREMA 2025 Annual Conference & Expo in Indianapolis, host Walt Bleser and panelists Doron Cohadier (RailVision) and Jason Schindler (Object...
Episode #7
<p>In what has become an annual tradition, Walt sits down with the incoming and outgoing AREMA Presidents ahead of the AREMA Annual Conference & Expo. Outgoing AREMA President William S. Riehl, III, PE, F.SAME (Genesee...
Episode #6
<p>This episode, Walt sits down with Theo Vallis, VP Commercial, Luminary Logistics Solutions, and President of The Railway Industrial Clearance Association (RICA), and Greg McComas, Senior Manager Dimensional...
Episode #5
<p>In this episode of Platform Chats, Walt Bleser sits down with Kate O’Connor—Chief Engineer at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and member of AREMA’s Board of Governors—for a conversation...
Episode #4
<p>To mark Platform Chats’ 10,000-download milestone, we’ve flipped the script and the mic. For the first time, our regular host is the interviewee. In this episode, guest host (and previous guest) Keith Bailey, founder...
Episode #3
<p>Ditch the desk job—this Platform Chats episode takes us to Rwanda, where engineers swapped spreadsheets for socket wrenches and the cubicle for Kigali. Host Walt Blesser talks with Jim Costigan, PE, Senior Engineer –...
Episode #2
<p>On this episode, host Walt Bleser celebrates the podcast’s 40th episode milestone by chatting about the importance of the League of Railway Women (LRW). Joined by the new LRW President Lisa Tackach (Head of Marketing...
Episode #1
<p>This episode previews the AREMA 2025 Railroad Bridge Symposium, happening February 4-6 in Fort Worth, Texas. Guests Ron Berry, PE, General Director of Services at BNSF Railway, and Duncan Paterson, PE, of the...
Episode #9
<p>In this episode of Platform Chats, host Walt Bleser sits down with Amanda Ciampolillo, Deputy Director of the Office of Environmental Program Management, and Karla Maffett, Deputy Director of Project Delivery, from...
Episode #8
<p>This episode focuses on the collaboration between AREMA and the National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) to create a publication that complements the AREMA Manual for Railway Engineering, Chapter 15 - Steel Structures...
Episode #7
<p>In this annual episode, we’re diving into the transition between outgoing President Ray Verrelle (Vice President/Sr Project Director - East Region, HNTB) and incoming President Bill Riehl (Chief Engineer Structures...
Episode #6
<p>In this episode, Walt chats with Aaron Dean (Product Development Engineer, Advanced Rail Systems, LLC) and Nicole Anderson (Transportation Engineer/Student, PHMSA/Morgan State University). Aaron is one of AREMA’s...
PitchCentric classifies Platform Chats under these industries. Guests from them are the closest fit, and each links to the best podcasts in that industry.
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