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RailWorks
Kevin Riddett leads RailWorks, a North American track construction and maintenance contractor formed in 1997 and now owned by Bernhard Capital Partners.
RailWorks
RailWorks builds and maintains the infrastructure that keeps people and goods moving across the U.S. and Canada, with over 120 years of experience.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1997
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Kevin Riddett
President & CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at RailWorks?
RailWorks is not an investment firm — it is an operating company that bids on and executes rail-infrastructure construction and maintenance contracts. Capital-allocation and M&A decisions are made at the parent level by Bernhard Capital Partners, the private equity firm that has owned the platform since May 2019 (per Railway Age, 2019).
Is RailWorks structured as a family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
Neither. RailWorks is a heavy-civil industrial services contractor operating as a for-profit company. It has been held by private equity sponsors — Harvest Partners, GRDA, Wind Point Partners, and currently Bernhard Capital Partners — rather than a single-family office structure.
Does RailWorks invest in rail assets or just build and maintain them?
RailWorks is a services contractor, not an asset owner. The company builds, maintains, and upgrades track, signals, and grade crossings but does not hold equity in the rail lines or rolling stock it services.
Which sectors does RailWorks explicitly avoid?
RailWorks concentrates on fixed-infrastructure services for freight and passenger rail. It does not bid on rolling-stock manufacturing, locomotive servicing, or non-rail heavy-civil projects such as highway or bridge construction unless they are incidental to a rail contract.
How is RailWorks related to Bernhard Capital Partners?
Bernhard Capital Partners is RailWorks' majority owner and controlling entity, having acquired the company from Wind Point Partners in a transaction announced in May 2019 (per Railway Age, 2019). RailWorks operates as a portfolio company within Bernhard's infrastructure-and-services investment strategy.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
RailWorks is not a family office managing personal wealth. It generates revenue through competitively bid construction and maintenance contracts with freight railroads, transit agencies, and state departments of transportation.
What is RailWorks' known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
As an operating company, RailWorks does not make LP commitments to external funds. Co-investment structures are relevant only at the parent-company level, where Bernhard Capital Partners may syndicate equity to co-investors for new platform acquisitions or add-on transactions.
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