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The American Passenger Rail Agreement
In order to ensure the safety, quality, reliability and efficiency of our country’s vital transportation network and to preserve our national defense, America needs a balanced, integrated transportation system and the American people need diverse transportation choices. Passenger rail is a critical component of a modern, multi-modal transportation system, and needs to have financial support, unified policy development and oversight similar to that afforded to our air, highway and mass transit modes.
Therefore, we, the undersigned, do urge Congress and the President of the United States to fully institute the following passenger rail components, which are critical to the future of passenger rail in the United States, within the upcoming reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and/or Amtrak Reauthorization legislation:
- Establish a dedicated, multi-year federal capital-funding program for intercity passenger rail, patterned after the existing federal highway, airport and mass transit programs.
- Establish, as federal policy, a preserved and improved national passenger rail system – a nationwide, interconnected passenger rail system that stimulates higher levels of efficiency, innovation and responsiveness. Direct the Federal Railroad Administration, or another agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation, to – with state and local input – develop, fund and oversee this federal policy.
- Provide full federal funding of Amtrak to maintain the national network during the period that the new federal plans and policies are being developed. Then, fully fund implementation of the national passenger rail system – with its new efficiencies, innovation and responsiveness – in subsequent years.
American Passenger Rail Agreement Signatories
- Alliance (Ohio) Area Development Foundation
- Andrew Nemeth Properties, LLC
- Alt-Trans Cleveland
- American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners, Inc.
- Association of Rail Travel in the U.S.
- Arkansas Association of Railroad Passengers
- Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates
- Bombardier Transportation
- Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers / I.S.L.B.
- Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains
- Center for Neighborhood Technology
- Citizens for Modern Transit
- City of Akron, Ohio
- City of Alliance, Ohio
- City of Aurora, Indiana
- City of Centralia, Washington
- City of Chicago, Illinois
- City of Conrad, Montana
- City of Devils Lake, North Dakota
- City of Emeryville, California
- City of Evansville, Indiana
- City of Fayetteville, North Carolina
- City of Fredricksburg, Virginia
- City of Erie, Pennsylvania
- City of Fort Morgan, Colorado
- City of Gary, Indiana
- City of Gilroy, California
- City of Greensburg, Pennsylvania
- City of Jackson, Michigan
- City of Kannapolis, North Carolina
- City of Kelso, Washington
- City of Lafayette, Indiana
- City of Macomb, Illinois
- City of Niagara Falls, New York
- City of Niles, Michigan
- City of Rockford, Illinois
- City of Rochester, New York
- City of Rugby, North Dakota
- City of Santa Cruz, California
- City of Shelby, Montana
- City of Stamford, Connecticut
- City of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
- Coalition for Appropriate Transportation
- Colorado Rail Passenger Association
- Corporation of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
- Corridor Capital, LLC
- Coston & Rademacher, P.C.
- County of Johnson, Iowa
- County of Linn, Iowa
- Emeryville (California) Chamber of Commerce
- Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest
- Evansville, Indiana Urban Transportation Area
- Friends of the Earth
- Gary/Chicago Airport Authority
- Greater Lafayette (Indiana) Chamber of Commerce
- Hoosier Environmental Council
- Illinois Rail
- Indiana High Speed Rail Association
- Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers
- Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce
- Kentucky Indiana Rail Advocates
- Lackawanna Coalition
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- League of Michigan Bicyclists
- Lorain (Ohio) Port Authority
- Louisiana Association of Railroad Passengers
- Metro RTA, Akron, Ohio
- Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
- Michigan Environmental Council
- Michigan Land Use Institute
- Midwest High Speed Rail Coalition
- Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission
- Missouri-Kansas Rail Passenger Coalition
- Montana-Wyoming Association of Railroad Passengers
- National Association of Railroad Passengers
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- National League of Cities
- Northwest Indiana Initiative
- Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers
- Ohio Rail Development Commission
- Parsons Brinckerhoff
- Passenger Rail Oklahoma
- Portland Cement Association
- ProRail Nebraska
- ProRail (WisARP)
- Railroad Passenger Association of Alabama
- Railway Supply Institute
- Railway Systems Suppliers, Inc.
- Rail Users’ Network
- Rhode Island Association of Railroad Passengers
- Schlosser and Schlosser, PC
- Shelbyville County (Indiana) Chamber of Commerce
- Sierra Club
- Shreiner Sole Company
- Siemens Transportation Systems
- Smart Growth America
- State of Illinois House of Representatives
- State of Illinois Senate
- States for Passenger Rail Coalition
- TALGO
- Tennessee Association of Railroad Passengers
- Texas Association of Rail Passengers
- Texas Rail Advocates
- Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority
- Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments
- The Council of State Governments
- The Council of State Governments, Eastern Regional Conference
- The Council of State Governments, Midwestern Legislative Conference
- The National Corridors Initiative
- The Ward-Dennis Hodges Corporation
- Train Riders Association of California
- TrainRiders/Northeast
- TransDominion Express
- Transportation Riders United
- Transystems
- United Transportation Union
- U.S. Conference of Mayors
- Village of Essex Junction, Vermont
- Village of Homewood, Illinois
- Virginia Association of Railway Patrons
- Virginians for High Speed Rail
- Washington Association of Railroad Passengers
- Wilbur Smith Associates
- Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers
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Rick Harnish, Executive Director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, is the coordinator of the American Passenger Rail Agreement list of sponsors. If your organization would like to join that list, please contact him at: Rick.Harnish@midwesthsr.org.
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