Strategic Priorities from the Summit

  • Double the frequencies of existing passenger trains.
  • Raise passenger train priority to the same level as health care and education.
  • Present a unified passenger train message to decision-makers and the public.
  • Build alliances with other train support groups and groups sharing common goals with passenger train support groups.
  • Support carbon “cap and trade” as a potential additional funding source for passenger trains.
  • Support funding for passenger train advocacy political action committees

A Summit booklet was given to each participant at check-in. The booklet included the agenda, thought starters and discussion topics, speaker biographies and contact information, information about sponsoring organizations and the coordinating committee. Click here to view the Summit booklet (6.2MB file) in Adobe(R) Acrobat(R).

George L. Chilson, President of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, delivered the keynote speech at the National Rail Passenger Leadership Summit. His speech, titled “Sharpening the focus and honing the strategy,” set the tone and outlined the challenges ahead for Summit participants and passenger train advocates.

Chilson said, "People ride trains" and urged participants to use that phrase, rather than "passenger rail."

Click here for a transcript of Chilson's keynote speech in Adobe(R) Acrobat(R).

James E. "Jim" Coston is a nationally-recognized advocate for improved railroad passenger service in the United States. He was a member of the Amtrak Reform Council. He co-founded and chaired the Twentieth Century Railroad Club which operated nearly 100 excursions chartered excursion trains under his leadership.

Former Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Gilbert E. Carmichael spoke at the National Press Club’s Transportation Table in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 2007, the same day the National Rail Passenger Leadership Summit was being held in Chicago.

Because of the importance and relevance of his comments to the future of passenger trains and the rail industry, we have included the transcript of his remarks. We thank the "This Week at Amtrak" newsletter for permission to reprint that e-newsletter's report of his speech. Click here for the transcript of Mr. Carmichael’s speech.