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Report on Los Angeles National Train Day
Monday, May 12, 2008
This past Saturday, May 10th the first annual National Train Day was celebrated at train stations across our country. It was 139 years ago on May 10, 1869 that the first trans-continental railroad was completed. National Train Day is conceived as a way to bring this heritage into the future by celebrating and rediscovering train travel. It’s a mode that people and policy makers are increasing turning to in this age of airport and highway congestion, declining oil reserves, and awareness of the effects global climate change.
I saw several thousand people come out to Los Angeles Union Station on Saturday for the festivities that included live music, tours of Amtrak train cars, tables from various organizations, art by train photographer John Acurso, and various kids’ activities.
Fellow NARP board members Paul Dyson, Ryan Stern, Ed Von Nordeck, and I represented NARP at our table along with the other train groups such as the Rail Passenger Association of California, the California High Speed Rail Authority, Metrolink, and Los Angeles Metro Rail. We were assisted by volunteers, especially 17 year old Justin Walker, who’s leading the Coast Starlight Communities Network, a grassroots coalition to advocate for the Coast Starlight service between Los Angeles and Seattle that originated from NARP’s initiative to form citizen teams to support the long-distance routes.
The event was opened in Union Station’s old ticketing room by Emmett Fremaux, Amtrak’s Vice President of Marketing & Product Management, and Will Kemptom, Caltrans Director. Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge presented Fremaux, on behalf of the City and the Mayor of Los Angeles, a proclamation declaring Saturday, May 10th National Train Day in Los Angeles. He also gave Fremaux a large loaf of pumpkin bread, a trademark of Councilmember LaBonge.
Later I got a chance to tour some Amtrak train cars, including the recently restored Pacific Parlour car for the Coast Starlight train.
On the restored Pacific Parlour car, I got a chance to talk to Fremaux about the days’ events and Amtrak. By brining together local stakeholders and the community on National Train Day across America, Amtrak was able to do far more good with their limited advertising dollars than would be possible with by just buying conventional media advertising, Fremaux said.
He was also quite proud of the upgrades to the recently restored Pacific Parlour cars. Fremaux and Amtrak President Alex Kummant have committed to improving the product and growing the business.
Judging from what I saw in L.A. and heard from others around America, Amtrak is going in the right direction with National Train Day. Let’s celebrate our country’s great and continuing passenger train heritage. But let’s also begin building a consensus that we need passenger trains for America’s future!
Dennis Lytton
Member, NARP Board of Directors
Posted by NARP
Tags: amtrak, arte, los angeles union station, national train day(0) Comments
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