BOSTON — The CEO of Keolis Commuter Services, contract operator of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter trains, is departing to return to a position with the operator’s parent company in France.
Parent company Keolis Group announced on Monday (June 23) that Abdellah Chajai will depart to become executive director of marketing, innovation, sustainable development, and engagement at the Paris-based company, effective Sept. 1. Chajai is a native of France.
The news site CommonWealth Beacon reports a search for a successor, to be hired with input from the MBTA, is underway; an interim CEO has yet to be named.
Chajai became managing director of the Boston operation in 2021, after seven years with the London-area Docklands Light Rail operation.
“I am tremendously 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,” he said in a statement reported by the Beacon. “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.”
Chajai’s departure comes as the current Keolis contract with MBTA winds down; it is set to expire in June 2027. The MBTA is currently working to complete a new operating contract, which could be with Keolis or another company.
