Railroad Passengers Endorse Passenger Train Funding in Economic Stimulus Bill
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Release #08-21—September 26, 2008
The following is a statement from National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) Executive Director Ross B. Capon:
“We are very pleased that House and Senate appropriators understand the importance of investment in America’s passenger train network. Funds in the pending economic stimulus bill will permit Amtrak to return damaged passenger rail cars to service. This would put Americans to work rehabilitating the equipment while letting Amtrak better meet growing demand for its services.
“Amtrak should exceed 28 million passengers in the year to September 30, an all-time high. August ridership was 10.5% higher than last August. Ridership through the first 11 months of Fiscal 2008 was up 11.2% from the year-earlier period, and 2% above ridership for the full 12 months of Fiscal 2007!
“High gas prices and reduced airline capacity has intensified a longstanding growth trend for Amtrak, as Fiscal 2008 will be the sixth straight year of ridership growth. This stimulus bill will make possible even more ridership growth.”
About NARP
NARP is the largest citizen-based organization advocating for train and rail transit passengers. We have worked since 1967 to expand the quality and quantity of passenger train service in the U.S. Our mission is to work towards a modern, customer-focused national passenger train network that provides a travel choice Americans want. Our work is supported by over 24,000 individual members.