Hey, Candidates: What about infrastructure???

October 8, 2016

No matter who you plan on voting for, it’s important that voters get a chance to hear about how presidential candidates would deal with country’s problems if they were elected to the White House. Unfortunately, the first debate was light on substance about one critical issue: infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates there is a $3.6 trillion backlog in transportation infrastructure project needs, for both state-of-good-repair (SOGR) and expanded capacity. Transit alo

VOTER ALERT: Infrastructure Projects Coming to a Ballot Near You

September 28, 2016

While the presidential and congressional elections dominate the national headlines, state ballot measures across the U.S. are attempting to remedy the deficit in transportation investment created by federal inaction. On November 8, voters across the nation will consider more than $200 billion worth of transportation related ballot measures—and pollsters are saying, due to public frustration with the growing gap between investment needs and public funding, the majority of these ballots are well

ACTION ALERT: Help Amtrak beat this month's budget deadline!

September 6, 2016

Passenger trains need your voice in pre-election talks With the deadline to pass a budget just weeks away, and none of the 12 annual regular appropriations bills passed, Congress is gearing up to pass a short-term budget extension (a Continuing Resolution, or CR) to avoid a shutdown before the election. NARP is asking passenger advocates to support the White House's request to fully fund Amtrak at $1.39 billion using the new accounting structure approved by Congress last year. This sensible

Making Money the Old Fashioned Way: Amtrak Industry Day at Baltimore Penn

August 12, 2016

Amtrak's entry into leveraging its properties for additional revenue begins with a fanfare of private industry interest, and therefore a solid showing of the economic value passenger trains have on the communities they serve

Congress Adjourns for Summer Break With Hearings on Amtrak and High-Speed Rail

July 15, 2016

As both houses of Congress adjourn for an election-year recess, they’ll leave Washington without passing one of the 12 annual appropriations measures. As NARP has been reporting, ancillary partisan battles halted progress on positive, bipartisan transportation appropriations bills that would increase funding for Amtrak, passenger rail, and transit. The Senate had already passed its version, and was simply waiting on the full House to vote before reconciling the bill before sending it to the Pr

California High Speed Rail: Let's Talk Facts

California High Speed Rail: A Bargain For Modern Mobility & Development

June 6, 2016

By delivering a new, better and more reliable mobility choice at upwards of 75% less cost for an exploding population, California High-Speed Rail is a bargain not a "boondoggle," as the Wall Street Journal claims.

Calling all Cyclists! Help launch Summer by Rail in New York Penn Station - this Sunday!

May 13, 2016

Sunday, May 15th - 2:00 PM NARP is teaming up with the East Coast Greenway Alliance and national bicycle advocates to launch NARP's Summer By Rail campaign! We're sending our intern, Elena (and her bike, Stevie!) on a cross-country, 38-day rail trip using multi-modal transportation to show the power of a Connected America. They'll visit 20 cities in 15 states, and document each step (and pedal) of the journey. The very first leg of her adventure will feature a tour of Manhattan's bikeways le

ACTION ALERT: Passengers Seize the Momentum in the Senate

April 19, 2016

Senate Appropriators Increase Rail Funding: Thank your Senators ahead of Thursday's full committee markup! The Senate Appropriations THUD Committee released its transportation budget this morning and thanks to YOUR calls we saw a positive change in funding for rail and transit: $1.7 billion for the Federal Railroad Administration, $76 million above the FY2016 enacted level; $525 million for TIGER grants, $25 million above the FY2016 enacted level; and $2.3 billion for Capital Investment Gran

Don't Let Amtrak Get Stuck in the Slow Lane!

March 1, 2016

As part of NARP’s ongoing efforts to improve unreliable On-Time Performance, NARP issued formal comments warning that a recent Surface Transportation Board (STB) policy statement threatens to leave passengers stuck in freight traffic. “The law was originally written so that host railroads – rescued by taxpayers in 1970 when Amtrak was created to relieve the host railroads of having to run passenger trains – had to give passenger trains preference unless they could win an exemption by pr

8 Ways to Create New Year Resolutions That Will Help NARP in 2016

January 5, 2016

Thanks to NARP members, 2015 was a very successful year for rail supporters. A new transportation bill, which included rail-specific provisions, was finally passed after a long draught. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a case to establish metrics and standards for Amtrak, NARP unveiled its “A Connected America” vision to create a nationwide multimodal transportation system, worked with members on rail issues at the grassroots level and expanded its Millennials Campaign. Now that 2016 is her