Michael Schabas


Michael Schabas is a UK-based railway consultant who has been involved in launching several new railway projects and businesses.

Work history

With a background in urban rail projects in the Canada and the United States, he came to London in 1988 as Vice President for Transport for Olympia & York, who were developing the Canary Wharf project in London Docklands. He led O&Y's involvement in planning and promotion of the Jubilee Line Extension, and also instigated the re-signalling and re-engineering of the Docklands Light Railway.
In 1995, Schabas founded GB Railways, which went on to win the Anglia Railways franchise, and to launch GB Railfreight and Hull Trains. In 2003, GBR was acquired by FirstGroup.
In 2010, Schabas co-founded Hamburg-Köln-Express, which operates intercity passenger trains in Germany.
In December 2018, Metrolinx, a public transit agency of the Government of Ontario, hired Schabas to lead a team to create a plan for the Ontario Line, a light metro proposed for the City of Toronto.