Rail Services, Inc.

1810 State Street Ste. 208
Boise, Idaho 83702
Phone (208) 287-4467 – Fax (208) 947-1681

History of Rail Services Incorporated

Rail Services, Inc. (RSI) was formed in 1990 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Freight Services Inc.(FSI)[1] with the specific purpose of assisting the insurance industry to understand, underwrite, mitigate and settle casualty and property damage claims associated with railroads.  RSI brought together a group of railroad professionals from all disciplines to combine cutting edge experience with knowledgeable field investigation and analysis.  This allowed insurance companies to determine what portions of the loss they actually covered and how to best mitigate and settle the covered losses.  In subsequent years, RSI’s client base for these services expanded from first, Continental Insurance, the largest railroad insurance carrier at the time, to approximately 23 insurance carriers, including those companies that insure trucking operations as well as trucking companies themselves.

In 2000, the founder of FSI/RSI sold his interest to the current directors, E. William (Bill) Anderson and Kathleen Anderson.

Business Development

RSI’s goal is to address all claims fairly in a timely manner.

Since 1991, RSI has continued to increase its business through new and existing relationships built on referrals primarily with railroad property and liability insurers, as well as trucking and agribusiness insurance carriers.  The latter insurance companies have exposure to railroad grade crossing accidents as well as accidents in large grain elevator and similar terminals where their clients conduct railcar loading and unloading operations.  RSI also works with attorneys who represent their insurance and other clients when a railroad related claim goes to litigation.

In 2005 RSI further expanded its offerings to include accident and incident management for commuter railroads.  This involves investigating, and adjusting claims and advising on settlement for “slip and fall” injuries and railroad grade crossing accidents.

Our Team

Bill Anderson, the CEO of RSI has 39 years of hands-on railroad experience including economics and accounting, operations, equipment management, logistics, investigating railroad related insurance claims, and railroad safety inspections.  Mr. Anderson has been with RSI/FSI since 1988.

Since 1993 Jerome (Jerry) Bakke has served the RSI team as Chief Mechanical Officer.  Mr. Bakke’s extensive background in railroad operations, railcar and locomotive repairs, as well as railcar and locomotive repair shop management made him an excellent addition to RSI.

In 2009, Camille McClelland joined the RSI Team as North American Operations Manager.  In addition to daily operations and business development, Camille handles FSI logistics, and RSI commuter rail contracts for accident and incident investigation services, as well as assisting with claims investigations.  Camille’s background includes evaluation of company financial statements which has assisted in evaluating the logical vs. theoretical losses included on various insurance claims.

In 2010, Shawna Moyer joined the RSI team as the North American Claims Director, managing the investigations process for all claims assignments.  Shawna brings with her a background in banking and finance with an understanding of federal banking regulations, aligning her with a smooth transition to insurance regulations and claims mitigation.

Detailed resumes available upon request. 

Services Offered

Today, FSI/RSI continues to provide high quality services including: railroad logistics, regional and short line railroad safety inspections and training, railroad related claims investigation and adjusting services.  We  work with short line, regional, commuter rail and class one railroads, and all major North American railroad liability insurance providers, as well as a majority of trucking and agribusiness insurance providers.

We analyze and advise on:

• Locomotive and railcar damage and repair using railroad industry repair standards
• Cargo lading damage for cargo value and salvage claims
• Train delay factors
• Loss of use claims
• Contractor invoicing for rerailing, landscaping, HazMat clean up, etc.
• Signal damage, signal timing downloads
• Bridge and track damage claims
• Interpreting Federal Railroad Administration/Association of American Railroads rules and regulations
• Business income loss evaluations
• Significant aspects of commuter rail operations
• Safety and risk management audits
• Hazardous material/pollution review and evaluation
• Derailment recovery management
• Accident causation