Monday, December 11, 2000 (Washington, DC )

Commending the leadership of Federal Railroad Administrator Jolene M. Molitoris, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater today announced that Molitoris will resign her position on December 31, 2000. Appointed by President Clinton in April 1993, Molitoris is the first woman to lead the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in its 34 year history.

"Jolene Molitoris has provided almost eight years of both outstanding leadership at the Federal Railroad Administration and dedicated service to this country," said Secretary Slater. "During her tenure, Jolene brought this nation the seven safest years in rail history for every safety category we measure and she is to be commended for her efforts."

Molitoris has accepted the position of President and CEO of GeoFocus Inc., a provider of safety enhancing Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) wireless technology solutions to the transportation industry.

"It has been a rewarding experience to serve President Clinton, Vice President Gore, Secretary Slater and the American people," said Molitoris. "Leadership, partnership and results -- these three words embody the core spirit and professionalism of the women and men of today?s Federal Railroad Administration. Innovative public-private partnerships have accomplished extraordinary things, turning challenging opportunities into remarkable successes."

Administrator Molitoris championed rail safety in the U.S. and around the world, establishing zero tolerance for any safety hazard as the industry standard, creating safety partnerships with rail labor and management and achieving historic increases in all safety categories as a result. FRA-led partnerships with rail labor, management and others helped reduce train accident fatalities by 87 percent, rail employee casualties by 34 percent, and highway-rail crossing fatalities by 35 percent. These record lows were achieved while rail freight and passenger traffic were at all time highs.

Administrator Molitoris is the recipient of several key honors. Railway Age Magazine featured Molitoris as one of the 16 most respected and admired "Great Railroaders of the 20th Century." In 1999, Molitoris received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In 1995 and 1996, the Woman?s Transportation Seminar (WTS), Washington, D.C. Chapter named Molitoris as their Woman of the Year and in 1996 the WTS of the U.S. named her the National WTS Woman of the Year.

FRA Deputy Administrator Jack Wells will serve as Acting Federal Railroad Administrator.