Come to DC to advocate for better rail

Only a month away from NARP's Spring Meeting & Day on the Hill. Please attend, help advocate for passenger rail! http://ow.ly/KzLX5

I will be there!

lepearso said:

I will be there!

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Great! I look forward to seeing you.

I will be there.

Who all are you meeting among the Congressfolks?

I will mostly be with the NJ crew, but might break away at times with the Florida folks. We'll see.

jis said:

I will be there.

Who all are you meeting among the Congressfolks?

I will mostly be with the NJ crew, but might break away at times with the Florida folks. We'll see.

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Does that include Rep.Mica jis?

I am sure the Florida folks would meet Mica. And trust me Mica is actually generally pro rail as such things go. His record regarding SunRail and TriRail and even AAF (the new passenger rail services of local concern in Florida) are quite positive. He I believe did also oppose the cancellation of the Orlando - Tampa HSR, though I was pretty ambivalent about it myself. Somehow he has this obsession about Amtrak LD trains though. The real problem from Florida are the likes of Rubio and my Congresscritter.

From NJ we will most likely be meeting both Booker and a few from the Republican side in the house, like Freylinghuesen who hold influential positions.

A quick report from last week's NARP Day on the Hill. The consensus seemed to be that we got a much warmer reception than we did last year, even from conservatives. There may be light at the end of the tunnel...and it might possibly be more trains! But representatives still need to hear your thanks if they supported passenger rail, and your displeasure if they did not.

Meanwhile, we heard from Amtrak that the test of the removal of the diner from the Silver Star is just that -- a test -- and it will be evaluated and reconsidered at the end of the year. It could be that the test is set up to fail, so as to quiet the micromanagers on Capitol Hill. But of course, Amtrak can't admit that. So it will be up to us to make our voices heard, and vote our preferences with our dollars.