NARP to Celebrate National Train Day; Calls on policymakers to support Grow Trains Campaign

Release #08-12—May 7, 2008

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Washington D.C., May 7, 2008—With National Train Day celebrations planned across the U.S. Saturday, the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) renewed its call to Congress, federal policymakers, and state and local governments to support its Grow Trains Campaign, and to fund repair of Amtrak’s idle cars immediately. Durham NH event is Friday.

NARP unveiled the Grow Trains Campaign last year to build support for its grid and gateway vision to achieve a truly intercity national passenger train network. NARP’s vision would vastly expand train routes by connecting major terminals (“gateways”) to long-distance, commuter, and high-speed train services, making up a networked “grid” connecting all major metropolitan areas, providing direct train-airport connections, and expanding track capacity for passenger and freight trains.

NARP and state partners are sponsoring events at train stations nationwide to continue building support for the Grow Trains Campaign and to highlight the role of passenger trains in the economies of local communities and in connecting people and businesses across America.

NARP-sponsored event on Friday, May 9:

• New Hampshire: Durham will host an open house in its station on the University of New Hampshire campus Friday, May 9, with participation from TrainRiders/NorthEast, and UNH.

NARP-sponsored events on Saturday, May 10:

• California: Sacramento: From 10 AM to 4 PM, the California State Railroad Museum will offer free passes to people who show passes or tickets from Amtrak or the Sacramento River Cats baseball team. The public will be able to walk through an Amtrak California coach. Emeryville: Activities include model train on display; a train jump house for kids; snacks and raffle prizes courtesy of the Capitol Corridor, 11 AM to 1 PM. The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, Caltrans and Amtrak will present the first-ever California Golden STAR Award. At many other stations throughout the state, volunteer station hosts and rail advocates will greet the public.
• Florida: At Tampa’s historic Union Station, Amtrak and rail advocates will welcome visitors with an Amtrak Superliner car to walk through, displays and information from Amtrak and Operation Lifesaver, model trains, and historical societies. The event kicks off with live music at 1 PM and runs until 5:30 PM.
• Ohio: Toledo’s station will host exhibits from numerous participating organizations, a model train display, three live bands, a cake-cutting, a drawing for Amtrak tickets and other prizes, and other attractions, 11 AM to 7 PM. Cincinnati will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its grand Union Terminal; rail advocates and Operation Lifesaver will provide exhibits.
• Texas: Marshall: Equipment will be on display and a cake-cutting celebration will accompany signing by local officials of a memorandum of understanding for expansion of service between East Texas and Northern Louisiana, at the Amtrak station, 11 AM to 3 PM. Both Dallas and Ft. Worth will issue National Train Day proclamations. Bands, festivities, and equipment displays will be at both Amtrak stations, noon to 4 PM.
• Washington State: Seattle’s King Street Station, recently acquired by the City of Seattle from BNSF Railway, will host a swing band and Amtrak and Sounder exhibits.

NARP will be present in nearly 20 other cities, including Amtrak’s flagship celebrations at stations in New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles. Communities around the country also are hosting events.
Details at www.narprail.org/trainday and www.nationaltrainday.com.

“This year’s festivities come as gasoline price sticker shock is leading more and more people to take the train, but while efforts to expand passenger train capacity are still negligible,” said Ross Capon, executive director of NARP.

Capon added, “Amtrak is heading towards its sixth straight year of ridership growth. Many routes have growth in double digits. With credible projections that the price of oil in two years may rise to $200 a barrel from about $120 today and $60 a year ago, Americans are going to get more and more frustrated if policymakers continue to be slow to address the public’s hunger for more travel choices in general and more trains in particular.”

National Train Day commemorates the Golden Spike ceremony that celebrated completion of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869. Information on NARP’s Grow Trains Campaign is at http://www.narprail.org/vision.