Association News

House Democrats Include High-Speed Rail Funding in Reconciliation Proposal
 

With a series of critical deadlines facing Congress this month, the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure took the lead with the transportation section of the Democrat’s budget reconciliation bill dropping earlier today. The outline includes $10 billion for high-speed rail, $150 million for credit risk premium assistance under the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program, $10 billion for transit and housing, and $4 billion to reduce surface transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.

“We applaud Chairs Peter DeFazio and Donald Payne, along with the rest of the House Transportation Committee, for including high-speed rail in the budget reconciliation package,” said Jim Mathews, Rail Passengers President & CEO. “High-speed rail is an essential component of any modern passenger rail network—one that was unfortunately left out of the Senate bipartisan infrastructure bill. Providing dedicated funding for high-speed rail will support development of new corridors and allow tens of millions of additional Americans to choose to travel by train.”

In addition to high-speed rail, the House transportation outline includes an innovative new program that will provide grants to improve transportation access for economically disadvantaged communities. The program will be administered jointly by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Transit Administrator, and will fund projects to improve mobility for low-income riders; enhance access to jobs, educational opportunities and community services; and create new and improved transit links to housing.

The House T&I Committee is expected to release the text of the bill over the weekend, and will mark up the bill on Tuesday, September 14.

There are still a number of significant hurdles to clear for the budget reconciliation as a whole, which will have to secure the votes of all 50 Democratic Senators.

We need to work to make sure that passenger rail isn't dropped from the final bill. Join us in publicly supporting high-speed rail by tweeting to your Members of Congress!

Tweet Now!
 

CP and KCS re-engagement is good omen for I-20 corridor rail service
 

Canadian Pacific – the railroad that has consistently topped the “Dean’s List” on Amtrak’s on-time performance host railroad report card – is re-engaging with would-be merger partner Kansas City Southern now that the Surface Transportation Board has rejected the structure of a rival bid for KCS from Canadian National.

KCS’s board voted last week to re-start the talks in the wake of the STB’s decision.

There are a lot of negotiations yet to happen, but on its face this is good news for passengers. The proposed CP link up would create opportunities to extend and enhance passenger rail service, particularly in the long-desired and often-ignored corridor linking Marshall, Tex., with Jackson, Miss. This would connect New York to Los Angeles with a swing through Southern states and enable regional day trips between any of 35 communities, college towns and tourist destinations across a three-state region encompassing Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

For example, it costs about $537 million to build two cloverleaf interchanges on the Texas interstate. That investment does little for congestion, pollution, or greater access for marginalized populations. It also costs $537 million to build two new tracks in each direction over the 245 miles between Dallas and Bossier City, Louisiana, tracks that would serve up to eight million potential new riders and create connections among population centers totaling 110 million residents.

RAILNATION:DC

Registration for the Virtual RailNation:DC 2021 is now open. Join us to make sure you have the tools and latest information as you advocate for “A Connected America” with your elected officials on the Hill during our date of action! The event cost of $45 includes:

• Open Board of Directors meeting on Sunday, September 19th

• Presentations on Monday from staff, Amtrak and Federal officials

• Tuesday’s Virtual Day on the Hill, Council Business meeting, and advocacy workshops
• (Just Added) Rail Passengers' Staff “Office Hours” on Wednesday the 22nd

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL AGENDA + REGISTRATION
 

Online meetings reduce costs, but they don’t eliminate it – there are direct and indirect expenses associated with producing an event of this scope, including our online meeting hosting services and our paid Zoom licenses. Your registration fee goes to offset those expenses involved with production of the meeting.
 

Donate Now!

Lockbox Transition + Postal Update

After many delays due to COVID, we’ve completed transitioning our lockbox partnership from Wells Fargo (Baltimore) to BNY Mellon (Pittsburgh). This means that BNY Mellon will be processing your direct mail donations and membership dues payments returned using our business reply envelopes.

Old response envelopes with the Baltimore lockbox address will be forwarded to the DC office for processing through the end of 2021.

We appreciate your patience as we work out the kinks in this transition - processing through a new lockbox and closing a lockbox. Delays in depositing checks and entering the corresponding data into Neon should be expected. Staff is working with our transition partners daily.

Remember, you can renew your membership online by logging into your Neon account. If you can’t remember your login, please call the office for assistance.

If you’d like to make a donation online, in lieu of sending a paper check to the lockbox, you can do so by clicking here. 

Instead of sending donations/dues to our lockbox, mail can be sent directly to the office in DC.

Office mailing address:
Rail Passengers Association
1200 G Street, NW
Suite 240
Washington, DC 20005
Attn: Membership or Donation

Railpassengers.org/Timetables

Get Your Own ‘Rail Passengers’ Signature Federal Credit Union VISA Card!


 

Hotline Links
 

• Service Restoration Plans for New Orleans, Amtrak Alerts  
  
  Amtrak has updated their service plans for trains to and from New Orleans after Hurricane Ida.
   
• Meet the U.S. Tourists Who Only Travel by Train, Condé Nast Traveler 
  
  This article by Julia Reis features our field team, Madison Butler and Joe Aiello along with other rail travelers. Sharing stories and experiences on board, this is a great piece to share with those looking to take their first train trip. 
   
• How Pullman Porters Influenced a Generation of Black Train Travelers, Condé Nast Traveler 
  
  Kim Williams, from our Board of Directors, was a contributor to this piece, reflecting with others about the history of rail culture and the unique black experiences of intergenerational train travel. 
   
• Hurricane Ida did not derail Amtrak plan to restart Gulf Coast route, AL.com 
  
  Full steam ahead for the Gulf Coast Restoration! Though some skeptics had sought to deter the restoration plans, the people of the gulf stand in support of restoration in the wake of Hurricane Ida. 
   
• 2021 East-West Train Trek Report, All Aboard Washington
  
  Rail Passengers and AAWA members Patrick Carnahan and Charlie Hamilton led a series of in-person meetings during their East-West Train Trek spanning Washington and Idaho, with a virtual appearance at the 30th Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) Summit in Big Sky, Montana. Focusing on improving awareness, highlighting economic opportunities, and increasing the organization’s educational capacity, Patrick and Charlie shared the outcome of that experience in this detailed report. 
   
• Would Hartford gain from a Boston train? Advocates are all aboard, CT Mirror
  
  With an allocation of $8 — $10 billion dollars from Gov. Ned Lamont and growing support from advocates, a line spanning from New Haven to Boston via Worcester and Hartland could come into fruition in the near future. A study projecting the potential for $47 billion and $84 billion in new and direct GDP over 30 years and $15 billion to $21 billion in indirect growth shows the massive impact this line could create, mirroring the benefits the New Haven to NYC route already has. 
   
• All aboard: Heartland Flyer to bring back Big Game Train for Red River shootout, Fox 25
  
  Live near Oklahoma City and heading to the Red River Shootout in Dallas on Oct 9th?  The Heartland Flyer can get you there!
   
• LIRR completes Main Line Corridor crossing eliminations, Progressive Railroading
  
  The last of eight grade crossings has been completed and Mineola, NY sees a safer future ahead for rail passengers and motorists alike. Encompassing two separate crossings, this final project marks a completion of a big step forward for the MTA and LIRR improvement teams.

#ICYMI - In Case You Missed It:

If you aren’t following along on social media, join us via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and our blog posts on RailPassengers.org  We are covering all the breaking news America’s passengers need to stay informed on local, regional, and national issues. 

Rail Passengers Staff Updates

Where are we and what are we working on? This section will update you on what Rail Passengers HQ is up to...even when we’re all working online or from home

• Jim Mathews, President & CEO, this week split his time between internal financial matters and following up on a host of regulatory issues ranging from the renewed merger proposal between CP and KCS railroads to passenger mask mandates.
   
• Sean Jeans Gail, Vice President of Policy, continued to work with allies and Congress on ensuring passenger rail gets into the budget reconciliation -- a campaign which reached a successful milestone this week!
   
• Jonsie Stone, Vice President of Resource Development & Operations, spent the week working with our Accounting partner YPTC, monitoring the lockbox transition with our financial partners and USPS and tending to Association administrative needs.
   
• Joe Aiello, Field Coordinator, has spent the week working on various items for the upcoming virtual conference — including email/social media outreach and prepping for the Tuesday workshops. Joe is also excited to share that the Condé Nast article he was interviewed for was released this week.
   
• Madison Butler, Communications Manager, coordinated with reporters from Condé Nast Traveler and New York Times, finalized materials for the upcoming webinar, and discussed upcoming projects with council and board members.

Member & Donor Notices

• The Rail Passengers Association is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Our federal tax identification number is 36-2615221
   

• To help facilitate dissemination of electronic thank you receipts in 2021, please make sure your contact information, specifically your email address, is up-to-date in your Neon profile.
   

• If you need assistance with your membership, please call the Office at 202-408-8362 or email narp@narprail.org.
   

• While our staff continues to work remotely, we are unable to provide permanent membership cards. You can print a temporary membership card by creating an account at www.railpassengers.org (select “My Account” on the homepage). 
   

• Complete all information! -- Before sealing your envelope, PLEASE double-check the credit card information on the buck slip!

  • Print credit card information clearly.

  • Include an expiration date, month and year, as well as the CVV number. 

  • Without COMPLETE information your membership renewal or donation can’t be processed. 
     

• If you have your financial institution send a check on your behalf, without a buckslip, PLEASE instruct them to add:

  • a notation in the memo field if the payment is for membership dues or a donation, AND,

  • your Rail Passengers Association member ID. If we have multiple members with the same name, i.e., John Smith, it can be hard to identify the correct member to attribute the payment, without the member ID.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes new tax incentives for charitable giving. --- We’ve provided a quick overview here and encourage each of you to seek advice from a financial planner.

If you have a donor advised fund, please consider recommending a grant from your fund to be the Rail Passengers Association. It is a great way to maintain flexibility with your support throughout the year. For more information, go to http://myimpact.railpassengers.org/daf. As always, please feel free to contact Jonsie Stone if you have any questions. 
 

The Rail Passengers Association would like to
thank our Annual Partners for their support!