NARP Blog

Friday, January 04, 2008

NARP Executive Director Ross Capon is taping an interview with Arthur Frommer which will be broadcast at the start of “The Travel Show with Arthur Frommer” this Sunday (January 6), Noon Eastern Time, on WOR radio in New York City (710 AM). The show is carried on the air in some other major cities (including Los Angeles and Chicago). It can also be heard live—and will be archived for later listening—at WOR’s web site.

Frommer, one of the nation’s most accomplished travel guide publishers and advocates for travelers on a budget, is also a vocal proponent for expanded passenger rail, as evidenced by recent blog posts, and a November, 2007 column that appeared in the Houston Chronicle and other newspapers.

—Matthew Melzer

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

NARP Executive Director Ross Capon made an appearance last night on a segment of NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams regarding Amtrak’s increasing popularity, prospects for expansion, and funding and operational challenges. The soundbite from Capon notes, “To get trains, it takes time, it takes money, and it takes political commitment.” While correspondent Tom Costello misses some technical details (such as saying that Amtrak’s diesel “trains” are 33 years old on average, without specifying which components), he highlights an issue of great national importance as the Nightly News continues its series on America’s infrastructure problems.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

In the wake of the tragic Metrolink-Union Pacific freight train collision in Chatsworth, CA last Friday, NARP staff have been interviewed by several media outlets. NARP’s overall message has been strongly in favor of industry-wide installation of Positive Train Control (PTC) or any other collision-avoidance system that prevents accidents like Friday’s.

On Saturday, NARP Executive Director Ross Capon and NARP Board member Ken Briers (a rail operations expert and former locomotive engineer) were interviewed on KPCC, Southern California Public Radio, as part of their “Off-Ramp” program. An archive is available both in Real Audio and Podcast format here. Capon’s interview occurs about half way through the program, starting at 25:45, and Briers’ starts at 44:05. (Note that despite the program’s name, it is not usually about transportation.)

Last night, NARP Director of Communications Matthew Melzer was on “Which Way, L.A.?” on KCRW, another Los Angeles-area NPR affiliate, advocating for collision-avoidance technology such as PTC. Streaming and Podcast archives are available here.

Sunday and last night, Capon also briefly appeared in segments on NBC Nightly News, pointing out that most of the nation’s passenger trains operate in shared-trackage situations, comingled with freight trains, and that Congress and regulators will need to examine the costs of implementing PTC.

—Dave Johnson

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NARP blog

NARP’s Ross Capon on the Radio with Arthur Frommer

Friday, January 04, 2008

Posted by NARP

NARP on NBC Nightly News

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Posted by NARP

NARP On the Air Following Chatsworth Tragedy

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Posted by NARP

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