Blog
Your daily source of fresh takes on news affecting America's passengers. See also the weekly NARP Hotline.
NARP responds to another attack on trains by CNN's Anderson Cooper
March 28, 2013
Written By Sean Jeans Gail So is Anderson Cooper still a real journalist? He headlines a daily talk show, and was swimming with crocodiles on last Sunday’s 60 Minutes. Perhaps Cooper has completely transitioned into the role of “television personality.” Honestly, that’s the most generous conclusion we can come up with. Because after the fact-light, context-free piece showcased on Anderson Cooper 360 last week, we have to say: if Cooper still considers himself a reporter, he is doing a
Why Long-Distance Trains Matter
March 4, 2013
Written By Malcolm Kenton Long Distance Trains: A Foundation for National Mobility, a white paper by NARP and theMidwest High-Speed Rail Association, aims to correct common misconceptions about Amtrak's national network of overnight trains and to demonstrate the valuable role they play in connecting small towns and rural areas to larger cities, with multiple city-pair "corridors" served by one highly productive train. NARP believes that the long distance trains should remain a federal responsi
NARP member’s vision map draws coverage, spurs action
February 21, 2013
Written By Malcolm Kenton NARP member Alfred Twu of Berkeley, CA designed a map of a possible future American passenger train network, with ten high-speed trunk lines supplemented by an expanded network of conventional passenger trains. It is partially based on NARP's own 40-year Grid and Gateway Vision map, released in 2007. The map invites you to imagine the distance between points not in terms of miles, but in terms of travel time by rail, with one centimeter on the map roughly equaling o
Leaders Agree: Infrastructure is Critical and Congress Must Pay for It
February 14, 2013
Written By Malcolm Kenton New Jersey's decrepit 103-year-old Portal Bridge. Photo by Andrew Bossi on Flickr.comYesterday, the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee heard testimony from a former Governor of Pennsylvania who leads an infrastructure investment advocacy group, the head of the nation’s largest business lobby, and the chief of a major labor union. All three agreed that the federal government must continue to play the leading role in maintaining and developing the nat
High Speed Rail Returns to State of the Union
February 13, 2013
Written By Sean Jeans Gail “Ask any CEO where they'd rather locate and hire: a country with deteriorating roads and bridges, or one with high-speed rail and internet; high-tech schools and self-healing power grids. The CEO of SiemensAmerica– a company that brought hundreds of new jobs toNorth Carolina– has said that if we upgrade our infrastructure, they'll bring even more jobs. And I know that you want these job-creating projects in your districts. I've seen you all at the ribbon-cutti
19th Annual Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Award
February 11, 2013
Written By Super User The Burch family and NARP are pleased to invite your company or organization to submit nominations for the 19th Annual Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Safety Award. Please note that we welcome multiple nominations from the same organization, and also accept nominations from individuals. The Burch Family has funded and presented the award to honor the railroad employee judged to have done the most to improve the safety of railroad passengers. The award includes a plaque and one tho
NARP Members Making Things Better for Passengers in Michigan
February 7, 2013
Written By Sean Jeans Gail In another instance of NARP members working to improve the experience of riding trains, Michiganmembers of NARP’s Council of Representatives have worked to install an electronic departure and arrival board for the Kalamazoo Transportation Center. The board—a repurposed flat screen television—is part of a pilot program that NARP hopes to expand to other cities: The city ofKalamazoois the first city to have the boards as part of the project organized by the Na
NARP Members Now Save 20% on Alaska Railroad Train Fares!
February 5, 2013
Written By Sean Jeans Gail Image courtesy Alaska RailroadUpdated to include: This discount cannot be combined with other discounts. NARP is pleased to announce a new partnership with Alaska Railroad that will give NARP members a 20 percent discount on all Adventure Class fares on Alaska Railroad trains, making it even easier for passengers to tour the wild beauty of “The Last Frontier” in the unique comfort and style afforded by train travel. This newly formed partnership will allow NARP
Revised NARP-Midwest HSR White Paper Depicts Value of National Network Trains
February 1, 2013
Written By Malcolm Kenton NARP and the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association (MHSRA) unveiled Tuesday a revised version of our joint White Paper, “Long Distance Trains: A Foundation for American Mobility.” The original was released September 17, 2012. Our goal with the paper is to transform the public image of long-distance trains, which is often colored by false stereotypes perpetuated by the popular culture. In reality, these trains serve multiple trip purposes in a single, highly-produc
Streetsblog "Keeping CNN Honest" -- You Can Too!
January 31, 2013
Written By Sean Jeans Gail Take a moment and head over to the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, where you can join their campaign to demand that Anderson Cooper and his producers include the critical voices of high speed rail advocates and experts in future coverage. Streetsblog’s Tanya Snyder has put together a comprehensive overview of the heated responses to CNN’s coverage of Recovery Act investment in the Vermonter service on Anderson Cooper 360. Schneider calls out reporter Drew G