Logan Wagner \\ Rail Engineer at Arup & Outgoing YPT-NYC Chair
Logan Wagner is a Rail Engineer at Arup, where he enjoys working on projects related to rail planning and program modeling. He has experience working with traffic simulations, bus operations, and roadway design. Prior to joining Arup, he worked at GPI on the Simulation and Modeling group, and interned at a community development organization and city planning department in the Greater Cleveland area. Logan is passionate about sustainable development, transportation operations and station design. Logan attended New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, where he graduated with a B.S. in civil engineering. Outside of work, he enjoys playing volleyball, skiing, ceramics, and language learning.
Why transportation?
Transportation is inherently political and being able to understand the technical limitations behind transportation infrastructure and how it affects society’s everyday life is fascinating to me.
What’s your favorite way to get around the YPT-NYC region?
Subway and walking
If you could snap your fingers and make one change to regional transportation, what would it be?
A few things come to mind. I would love to see more rail to airport connections. Hint: Astoria Line to LGA and PATH to EWR. There are aspirational models in Germany and China for more rail to air connections. I also think interoperability from a technical perspective (electrification, fleet) and user-experience perspective (tickets, information sources) should be emphasized. Lastly, I want to understand more how transportation can help accelerate affordable housing production in the region. It seems RATP in Paris has made good progress for housing and transit coordination.
Who inspires you?
Not surprisingly, I find Pete Buttigieg to be an inspiring leader for our generation. I admire his curiosity about transportation and understanding of how things can get done politically. There are a handful of cool mayors that are inspiring: Anne Hidalgo, Valerie Plante and Justin Bibb. I also have some really cool friends and colleagues that I feel lucky to call friends (on the YPT board!) that inspire me with their commitment, attitude and hard-working nature. In a non-transportation context, there is a German woman, Christine Thürmer, who inspires me as a novice long-distance hiker.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Strive to be a great listener and do not be afraid to make mistakes. Also, realistically, do not bite off more than you can chew.
What are you working on currently that you’re most excited about?
I enjoy working on projects that analyze the future rail operations along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and how a wide variety of projects will improve conditions for riders in terms of capacity and efficiency. It is exciting what the future holds (if the funding is there!).
Do you have a favorite transportation book, blog, newsletter, podcast, or YouTube channel?
Apart from the monthly YPT newsletter, I love a good RPA, Citylab, TransitCenter and Mass Transit newsletter.
My work commute consists of podcasts like: The Daily, The Overhead Wire, 99% Invisible, AREMA’s Platform Chats, Death, Sex & Money, Think Fast Talk Smart, and Design Better
My post dinner rotting usually consists of watching Youtube channels like: The B1M, WSJ, Vox, Not Just Bikes and Road Guy Rob, while scrolling across great transit influencer content that I value like: Jared Aisenberg, Julian Briggs, Hayden Clarkin, Marco Chitti, Joe Cohen, Jug Cerovic, Brent Toderian and Yonah Freemark.
What is your favorite transportation-related fun fact or joke?
As a rust belt native, I find the fact that Cleveland was the first city in the US to connect its airport to the rail system ironic, as it’s a historically declining city.
YPT-NYC 