Railroad passengers applaud President’s call to connect 80% of Americans by high-speed trains

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (#11-02)
January 26, 2011

Contact: Sean Jean-Gail – 202-408-8362 [cell: 202-320-2723]

Railroad passengers applaud President’s call to connect 80% of Americans by High-Speed Trains

In the State of the Union address delivered to the nation last night, President Obama recommitted to his bold vision for passenger trains in the U.S. by establishing a goal to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years.

“The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) pledges to support the President’s visionary plan for high-speed rail” said Ross Capon, president of NARP.  “And we are asking the President—along with the rest of the nation’s leaders and transportation officials—to work towards expanding the existing intercity passenger rail network to give 100 percent of Americans access to reliable, modern train service.”

In his address before Congress, the President spoke forcefully of the many reasons the U.S. needs high- and higher-speed trains.  He identified a world class infrastructure as a key element in America’s fight to “win the future”:

“We have to do better.  America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, constructed the Interstate Highway System.  The jobs created by these projects didn’t just come from laying down track or pavement.  They came from businesses that opened near a town’s new train station or the new off-ramp.”

By providing Americans with travel choices, the U.S. can address a variety of problems plaguing the country—from an overreliance on foreign oil through more efficient travel, to providing an alternative to the highway and air traffic congestion that costs American businesses billions of dollars each year.  This investment will also create tens of thousands of good paying jobs that can’t be sent overseas.

“Amtrak trains carried an unprecedented number of passengers last year, bringing in record revenues in the process” said NARP Chairman Robert Stewart.  “We need to make sure we work to achieve the President’s farsighted vision for high-speed rail in a way that meets the pressing needs of Americans looking for choice in their everyday travel.”