Happening Now
2024 Legislative Materials
RAILNATION:DC - SPRING 2024
Rail Passengers Association's annual one-page ask for Amtrak and passenger rail. Provides an overview of the programmatic funding requests and specific policies and legislation that Rail Passengers is advocating for in the coming year.
Rail Passengers Association Fiscal Year 2025 Legislative Grant Request
Rail Passengers remains committed to working with Congress to ensure there is meaningful oversight on these newly expanded passenger rail programs and on Amtrak operations. There have been challenges in efficiently ramping up capital investment programs—for the Federal Railroad Administration, for Amtrak, and for States. We believe strong Congressional oversight can help ensure that these rail projects move as quickly as the law allows through the planning, review, and design phase.
Fiscal Year 2025 Rail Passengers Association Legislative Request
FY25 Explanatory Statement: What would the funding get us?
We wanted to explain WHY we're asking for the authorized funding levels this year—and what that funding would purchase for America's passengers and Amtrak-served communities. You can get all the details here.
RAIL PASSENGER BILL OF RIGHTS
In response to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill’s historic investment in passenger trains, Rail Passengers Association believes the time is now to establish what we expect the U.S. network to deliver to the people who use it. With this surge in public investment, many of the old excuses for service failures will no longer be sufficient to excuse rail carriers. The time is now to start thinking about the benchmarks for acceptable levels of service, and the mechanisms for ensuring that rail carriers are accountable to passengers.
Rail Passengers has assembled a “Rail Passenger Bill of Rights,” drawing from prior legislative proposals, existing regulation of the aviation industry, and international models for oversight of passenger rail carriers.
2024 Rail Passenger Bill of Rights
INFORMATIONAL ONE-PAGERS
Passenger rail fact sheets, updated through 2024, produced by the Association’s professional staff.
FRA Daily Long-Distance Study: An overview of the benefits of the 15 new and restored long-distance Amtrak services being proposed by the FRA's Daily Long-Distance Service Study. The report is scheduled to be finalized in Summer 2024.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Benefits: Increased infrastructure investment provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—in combination with annual appropriations approved by Congress—is already resulting in tangible improvements to the U.S. rail network and national rail fleet.
Economic Benefits: A Connected America is not only good for passengers but good for America’s cities and towns, an economic engine in the communities it serves.
National Network & Rural Mobility: Amtrak’s National Network forms the foundation of passenger rail service in the U.S., bringing economically viable mobility to rural areas and small towns.
Environmental Benefits: Modern passenger rail can carry large numbers of people further, faster, and more efficiently than ever before.
"On behalf of Amtrak’s onboard service staff, I want to thank the Rail Passengers Association for honoring their hard work with this award. The past couple years have indeed been difficult for Amtrak onboard service staff – coping with furloughs and job insecurity, adapting to changing protocols and services, not to mention the unfortunate events such as a tragic derailment and a fatal shooting. Nevertheless, our dedicated members at Amtrak have handled these hurdles with the care, attention and diligence for which they’re known. We thank Rail Passengers for their acknowledgement of our members’ hard work and, as always, look forward to seeing you on the rails."
Arthur Maratea, TCU/IAM National President
December 21, 2021, on the Association awarding its 2021 Golden Spike Award to the Frontline Amtrak Employees.