M. Scott Linn

M. Scott Linn

Senior Consultant

Scott Linn is a veteran railroad executive with 40+ years of experience spanning Class I, regional, and shortline railroads across North America, South America, and Australia. His track record includes senior engineering and operations leadership, acquisition due diligence, and management of multi-billion-dollar capital and compliance programs.

As a recognized railroad engineering and operations executive, Scott specializes in acquisition due diligence, capital and maintenance planning, and cross-border engineering leadership. He brings more than 40 years of experience across Class I, regional, and shortline railroads throughout North America, South America, and Australia.

Scott’s rail career began at BNSF Railway, where he spent 18 years advancing through engineering leadership roles, including Division Engineer and Chief Engineer for BNSF’s Argentina operations. He went on to hold senior engineering and operations leadership positions at RailAmerica and Florida East Coast Railway before joining Genesee & Wyoming, where, for over seven years, he served as Senior Vice President Engineering, President Railroad Engineering Services, and Senior Vice President Engineering & Mechanical for G&W’s Australian operations, encompassing corporate capital planning and engineering compliance across G&W’s network.

In 2020, Scott formed Linn Railroad Consulting Services, LLC, to perform acquisition due diligence and advise clients on capital and maintenance planning, compliance audits, project development and management, and incident analysis for railroad and railroad-related companies. He joined Gulf & Atlantic Railways, which eventually became Pinsly Railroad Company, as Executive Vice President & COO in 2022, and also serves on the Board of Directors of Pacific West, LLC, including a term as Interim CEO from December 2022 to February 2023.

Scott holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Montana State University, where he graduated with honors and concentrated in structural design and engineering economics. He has been a member of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) since 1990 and is conversant in Spanish.