Texas Rail Conference; Special Rate for NARP Members!

Too many freight trains. Not enough track.  And no room for any real passenger rail expansion in Texas unless…

“Solving the Congestion Challenge”. That’s the theme of the 3rd Annual South Central High Speed Rail Corridor Conference to be held Thursday evening, January 25 and Friday, January 26, 2007 at the DFW International Airport Hyatt Regency Hotel.  And as a special bonus, NARP members are entitled to a $15 discount on the registration fee!  (must be received by January 15)

Hosted by Texas Rail Advocates, this conference hopes to energize the public and private sectors in Texas and the Southwest to move ahead with a study of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s South Central High Performance Rail Corridor.

Among the presenters will be Michael Behrens, Executive Director of the Texas Department of Transportation and John Horsley, the Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Designated in 2000, the corridor has not received any attention from public and private entities until this past December when a conference call was held with Council of Governments, Municipal Planning Organizations, Railroads, State Transportation Officials and other stakeholders to determine the level of interest. Officials from Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas participated in the conference call and all agreed that the time is right to move forward on the corridor. First up, a letter of understanding that the South Central Rail Corridor is a vital link in transportation policy and deserves to have a feasibility and engineering study.

Both Union Pacific and BNSF Railway officials will have presentations on public/private partnerships and Gene Skoropowski: Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority will speak on the success of passenger rail service in California.

Information on the conference can be found at the Texas Rail Adovcates homepage.  A special website for the $15 discount registration fee can be found here.

Peter LeCody
TRA President and NARP Board Member