Amtrak has announced details for the sixth annual National Train Day, held May 11 in more than 200 communities across America. “National Train Day invites communities big and small to share the importance of trains as a vital transportation option and engine of economic development and employment,” said Amtrak Chief Marketing Sales Officer Matt Hardison. The theme of this year’s Train Day is “Trains Matter,” and events across the nation will be organized to...
Press Release #13-05 March 13, 2013 Contact: Sean Jeans-Gail, 202-408-8362 The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) has denounced a partisan political attack on a high-speed rail project that would connect southern California and Las Vegas with fast, safe, and convenient train service. The project would create new jobs and ease congestion on one of the nation’s premier travel corridors. Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) wrote to (http://budget.senate.gov/republican/public/index.cfm/files/serve/?File_id=af2e546f-cce2-4653-9793-70ef55a79976) U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood attacking the...
NARP Members are now entitled to 10 percent off the best available fare on VIA Rail Canada (http://www.viarail.ca/en) trains across Canada—including Economy, Business, Sleeper and Sleeper Touring classes! Tickets must be purchased before December 31, 2013 and travel must take place before March 31, 2014. Click here to learn how to obtain the discount and read terms conditions (http://narprail.org/members/members-only/2052-discountinstructions#via) (member login required). During a March 5 hearing, “Freight and Passenger Rail in America’s Transportation System,” held by the Railroads...
Long Distance Trains: A Foundation for National Mobility (resources/white-papers/2083-longdistancepaper), a white paper by NARP and the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association (http://www.midwesthsr.org/), aims to correct common misconceptions about Amtrak's national network of overnight trains and to demonstrate the valuable role they play in connecting small towns and rural areas to larger cities, with multiple city-pair "corridors" served by one highly productive train. NARP believes that the long distance trains should remain a federal responsibility. which was reaffirmed...
The Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program released a paper this week that takes a closer look at America’s passenger rail renaissance, identifying passenger rail travel between metropolitan areas as an important source of ridership growth, and a fertile ground for future capacity expansion. While it’s no secret that Amtrak’s ridership has skyrocketed in the last decade, carrying a record 31.2 million riders in FY 2012, A New Alignment: Strengthening America’s Commitment to Passenger Rail (http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Reports/2013/03/01%20passenger%20rail%20puentes%20tomer/passenger%20rail%20puentes%20tomer.pdf) does...
The California Assembly is likely to decide soon, as part of its fiscal 2013 budget process, whether or not to allow the state's bold, vital, and nation-leading high-speed rail project to proceed on its aggressive schedule. The outcome will determine whether California will bolster its economy and save millions of taxpayer dollars over the next few decades, or whether the state will face a future of debilitating congestion on the roads and in the skies, as well as worsening pollution.
As you are probably aware, opponents of high-speed rail have been out in force and have been unduly dominating the conversation in the mass media. They will be inundating the Capitol in Sacramento with phone calls and emails over the coming weeks, urging lawmakers to abandon California's chance to lead the nation once again with top-notch infrastructure. We must not let them win, especially when so many other valuable passenger train development projects around the country will face a much more difficult path forward if California high-speed rail fails to be built.
Enter your ZIP code below to send a quick, easy message to your state Senator and Representative urging him or her to give California a green light towards a future with more jobs and opportunity, and less gridlock and pollution.