Karen Hedlund

Karen Hedlund works with federal, state and local transportation agencies as well as private companies to facilitate public-private financing and development of rail transportation infrastructure, including station development projects. She is currently providing federal financing advice to Amtrak on the $20 billion Gateway Project, including a new Hudson River rail tunnel, and expansion of Pennsylvania Station. She is currently advising the Texas Central high speed rail project that will connect Dallas and Houston, and the High Desert Corridor project that will provide a 60 mile connector between the Xpress West rail project from Las Vegas to the California high speed rail project at Palmdale..Prior to joining WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, Ms. Hedlund served as� Deputy Administrator and Chief Counsel of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), providing leadership for the administration’s $12 billion high-speed rail grant program, including a the $3 billion investment in the California High Speed Rail project.As Deputy Administrator she also oversaw the agency’s RRIF loan program, which was amended in the recently adopted FAST Act to permit financing of transportation oriented development projects.Prior to her appointment to USDOT, headed the East Coast infrastructure practice of the Nossaman law firm, advising state and local governments on alternative financing and procurement of transportation projects.Her law degree is from Georgetown University, and her bachelors was earned at Harvard.�