Press Release: 6/27/2025
Keolis Commuter Services CEO Promoted to Leadership Role In Keolis Group
After four successful years in Boston, Abdellah Chajai will oversee marketing, innovation, and sustainability for Keolis around the world beginning September 1
June 26, 2025 (BOSTON, MA) – After a successful four years leading Keolis Commuter Services, the MBTA’s operations and maintenance partner for Commuter Rail, Abdellah Chajai has been promoted to a new role as Executive Director of Marketing, Innovation, Sustainable Development and Engagement for Keolis Group. Keolis Group is an innovative global leader in transit services operating every mode of transportation across 13 countries.
During Abdellah’s tenure in Boston, Keolis has further improved Commuter Rail performance and ridership, advanced decarbonization with a project to bring battery-electric trains to the Fairmount Line, and delivered best-in-class service to our passengers. Abdellah oversaw the transition to clockface scheduling, and the Commuter Rail continues to see the nation’s highest return of riders post-COVID.
Keolis Commuter Services is committed to continuing this momentum and to bringing in a new CEO to lead Keolis Commuter Services and the MBTA Commuter Rail operation into the future.
“I want to congratulate Abdellah on his appointment to the Keolis Group executive committee,” said Brad Thomas, President and CEO of Keolis North America. “I’m grateful for his dedication to our employees, the MBTA and the passengers we serve with safe, reliable Commuter Rail service. We’re all thankful for his visionary leadership here in Boston and look forward to continuing our work together in his new role.”
“I am proud of what the Keolis team has accomplished during my time in Boston, and in my new role I will continue to be a champion for the important work happening here,” said Abdellah Chajai, CEO and General Manager of Keolis Commuter Services. “In partnership with the MBTA, we have helped usher in a new era of Commuter Rail operations and service, driving the strongest ridership return nationally post-Covid. The future of MBTA Commuter Rail is exciting, and we are proud to be a partner for early transformation, like the Fairmount Line Decarbonization Program. I want to express my gratitude to the MBTA and my Keolis colleagues.”
Keolis Commuter Services has operated and maintained the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s commuter rail system, the sixth largest commuter rail operation in North America, for over ten years. KCS is a subsidiary of Keolis North America (KNA), both headquartered in Boston, and employs approximately 2,500 people throughout the region. KCS and KNA are part of Keolis Group, an innovative global leader in transit services with more than a century of passenger transportation experience and operations in 13 countries.