DALLAS — The arrival of Thomas LeBeau and Darwin Desen to the national transit and rail team at WSP USA, an engineering and professional services consultancy, will take the firm to the next level to deliver for transit and rail clients.

LeBeau will serve as the transit and rail market lead, and Desen will serve as senior managing director for transit and rail. Both WSP vice presidents will operate out of the firm’s Dallas office.

“WSP has a strong transit and rail business in the Texas area and these two outstanding senior level executives will support our local teams to ensure our clients have the resources and solutions they need to address complex challenges,” said Frank Banko, WSP deputy national transit and rail market leader.

LeBeau, with the support of the WSP transit and rail team, will expand and drive growth for the practice in the Texas region and will support the expansion of business development strategies in addition to ensuring the right technical talent is assigned to pursuits. He will also monitor that production work is delivered within scope, schedule and budget.

LeBeau has held executive level positions in all areas of the industry, including with both public agencies and private consultants, developing relationships with agencies such as Houston METRO, Texas Department of Transportation, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Denton County Transportation Authority, Trinity Metro, Union Pacific Rail Road, BNSF Railway, Austin Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Virginia Railway Express, Los Angeles Metro, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Bay Area Rapid Transit, CalTrain, and New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

“Tom’s experience and outside-the-box thinking allows him to quickly evaluate personnel and agency requirements, assemble the proper teams, lead in a quality direction, and provide timely interaction with staff, the board of directors, member cities, stakeholders, and contractors,” said Arpit Talati, WSP regional business manager.

In his new role, Desen will serve as a senior program and project manager for the design and delivery of large, complex rail infrastructure projects, including freight railroad mainline, yards, terminals and support facilities, and commuter and light rail projects associated with major rail programs. His experience on alternative delivery contracts will bolster our local team.

Desen has more than 30 years of experience providing services for both public and private clients managing a variety of projects across the country. He has participated in all phases of design from planning and alignment studies, conceptual design through final design, and development of bid and procurement documents for construction. Darwin has substantial experience working with Class 1 Railroads including Union Pacific, BNSF, and Norfolk Southern as well as with multiple state and federal agencies including the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, and the Surface Transportation Board related to the planning and design development of rail infrastructure projects.

“Transit and freight rail infrastructure continues to be a focal mode of transportation across Texas to help our citizens safely travel,” Talati said. “Tom and Darwin’s expertise and integrity fit perfectly with our team to continue to bring value to our agency clients as they further develop their systems.”

For more information, visit www.wsp.com.