RailAmerica Announces Management Promotions and Additions.

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 1999--Gary O. Marino, Chairman, President and C.E.O. of RailAmerica, Inc. (Nasdaq/NNM:RAIL), Tuesday announced several management promotions and additions at the Company.

Robert C. Parker, 44, has been promoted to the newly created position of Vice President Transportation for the company effective March 1, 1999. Parker was formerly the company's Eastern Region Vice President and General Manager of the Huron & Eastern Railway Company and Saginaw Valley Railway Company in Vassar, Mich. He will be relocating to RailAmerica's corporate headquarters in Boca Raton.

Parker, who has more than 20 years of railroad experience, joined RailAmerica in 1995 as its Transportation Manager. Prior to that, he served as the Transportation Service Supervisor and Trainmaster for the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. In his new position at RailAmerica, he will be responsible for coordinating all North American railroad activities and assisting with acquisition due diligence efforts. He will report to Jack F. Conser, Senior Vice President North American Rail Group. Parker received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business/Finance from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

"Bob has done a tremendous job during his four years with RailAmerica," said Marino. "With his considerable background in railroading, he possesses the skills and hands-on experience to effectively manage the daily activities and expansion of our 1,200 mile North American railroad network."

Replacing Parker in Michigan will be Dale W. Carlstrom, 42, who has assumed the position of Vice President and General Manager of Huron & Eastern Railway Company and Saginaw Valley Railway Company. He joins RailAmerica from RailTex, Inc., where he was General Manager of their 410-mile regional railroad system in the Northeast. Prior to that, he held field and management positions with the Soo Line Corporation. Carlstrom, who holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Transportation from the University of Wisconsin, has a total of 21 years of railroad experience.

The Company also announced two appointments at its newest subsidiary, the E&N Railway Company (1998) Ltd. (E&N) located on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Effective immediately, Alan Richmond has been named Vice President & General Manager of E&N, and Brian Smith as Assistant General Manager of E&N.

Richmond, 58, brings to RailAmerica over 36 years of Canada-based railroad experience, including the last 11 years with the British Columbia Ministry of Municipal Affairs as its Chief Inspecting Engineer - Railway Safety. Richmond, who started his career with Canadian Pacific Railway, has managed two railroads previously. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Manitoba.

Prior to joining RailAmerica, Smith, 52, was Via Rail's project manager for locomotive engineer training. He has over 32 years of railroad-related field and management experience, including time with both Canadian National and Via Rail.

Finally, the Company has promoted Charlie Moore, 53, to the newly created position of Vice President Western Region, where he will be responsible for overseeing the Company's rail operations in the western U.S., including the Cascade & Columbia River Railroad Company, West Texas & Lubbock Railroad Company, Ventura County Railroad Company and the E&N Railway Company (1998) Ltd. Moore, who joined RailAmerica in 1998 after a 30-year career with Norfolk Southern Railway and its predecessors, will also continue in his position as General Manager of the Cascade & Columbia River Railroad Company in Omak, Wash.

Marino added, "I want to congratulate Charlie on his well-deserved promotion. Through his past achievements, he has demonstrated that he has the talent and ability to handle the increased responsibility of the regional vice president position. In addition, we are delighted to have Messrs. Carlstrom, Richmond and Smith join RailAmerica. Their significant rail experience will certainly add depth to our management team, and we look forward to their contributions helping to make RailAmerica a successful enterprise over the next several years."

RailAmerica, Inc. is a diversified international transportation company operating 13 railroads over approximately 2,600 route miles in eight U.S. states, Canada and the Republic of Chile. The Company holds a minority equity interest in Australia's transcontinental passenger rail service and owns Kalyn/Siebert, Inc., a specialty truck trailer manufacturer with production facilities in Gatesville, Texas and Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada.

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This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of RailAmerica that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not limited to, economic conditions, customer demand, increased competition in the relevant market, and others. We refer you to the documents that RailAmerica files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as the Company's Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports, which contain additional important factors that could cause its actual results to differ from its current expectations and from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.