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Amtrak

Amtrak Celebrates Black History Month with Special Ceremony Honoring Pullman Porters

OAKLAND, Calif. – Amtrak, in celebration of Black History Month, partnered with the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum to host a ceremony celebrating the contributions of the legendary Pullman Porters and African-American railroad workers at the Oakland Amtrak Station Feb. 10. Amtrak officials and local dignitaries will gather to honor five porters and dining car waiters who proudly served as far back as the mid-1940s. Honored are Lee Gibson, 98, of Los Angeles, James Smith, 83, of Simi Valley, Samuel Coleman, 80, of Las Vegas, and Troy Walker, 90, and Thomas Gray, 71, of Seattle. “The celebration is an

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Amtrak

STB Announces Speakers Lineup

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board provided a schedule of speakers’ appearances and their time allocations for the Board’s Feb. 11 public hearing on the Board’s new responsibilities under the recently passed Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. The Act enhances the Board’s role with regard to Amtrak and its relationships with commuter rail operators, host railroads, states and the public.

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Amtrak

Feds Greenlight ARC Project

NEWARK, N.J — The Mass Transit Tunnel, centerpiece of the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) project, reached a major milestone that clears the way for federal funding and will allow construction to begin this year. The release of a “Record of Decision” by the Federal Transit Administration officially completes the project’s exhaustive environmental review process. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez worked extensively to secure this approval from the FTA. The local financing share of $5.7 billion is already committed, including $3 billion from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. New Jersey is now looking

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Amtrak

Amtrak Board Names Thomas Carper of Illinois as Chairman

WASHINGTON – At its regularly scheduled meeting Jan. 29, Amtrak’s Board of Directors unanimously agreed to name Thomas Carper of Illinois as Chairman of the Board. Carper, who has served in various Illinois state and local government positions, including Mayor of the City of Macomb, has been a director on the Amtrak board since March 2008. At the same meeting former Chairman Donna McLean was named Vice Chairman, replacing Hunter Biden, who remains as a board member. “Everything we have done as a board, we’ve done as a unified body, and this change in our hierarchy is no exception,” Carper

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Amtrak

Union Pacific Railroad Invests More Than $6 Million for Track Improvements from Kansas City to Jefferson City

OMAHA, Neb. — Motorists will spend less time at crossings waiting for trains to pass as a result of more than $6 million in track improvements made by Union Pacific Railroad to its Kansas City to Jefferson City line. The track improvements will allow trains to operate more efficiently on the route. When the project is complete, crews will have removed and installed more than 10 miles of rail in various curves between Kansas City and Jefferson City. Work will begin on these projects Feb. 1 and is scheduled to be completed by April 8. The Kansas City to St.

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Amtrak

And the Winner is… Missouri River Runner

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The public has spoken: Missouri River Runner is the new name for the state-supported Amtrak trains between St. Louis and Kansas City. The name evokes the river that parallels much of the route, plus the Mississippi River at the eastern terminus and the Kansas River at the western end, Amtrak said. It was submitted by Keith Kohler of Glendale, Mo., and it received 2,036 votes, or 37 percent of the votes cast. More than 8,300 name submissions were entered late last year. After contest judges narrowed those submissions to just five finalist names, 5,455 votes came

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Amtrak

Amtrak to Host ‘Civic Conversation’ in Savannah on Rail Depot Redevelopment & Restoration

WASHINGTON — As a part of its Great American Stations Project, Amtrak is hosting its fourth Civic Conversation in Savannah, Ga., Feb. 3 and Feb. 4, to discuss the redevelopment and restoration of passenger rail stations along the routes of the Carolinian, Crescent, Palmetto, Piedmont, Silver Meteor and Silver Star. The Atlantic Coast trains serve passengers between New York and Florida and New Orleans. During the meeting on Feb. 4, case studies from both large and small communities will be highlighted. Representatives of those communities will explain how they shepherded their projects to successes that sparked additional redevelopment in their

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Amtrak

Amtrak Handles Crowds for Presidential Inauguration

WASHINGTON — Amtrak trains have been carrying large crowds to and from Washington since Jan. 17, many of the passengers traveling for events associated with the inauguration of President Barack Obama. The railroad estimated that more than 78,000 passengers will have used Amtrak for travel to and from the nation’s capital through Jan. 21, surpassing the same Martin Luther King holiday weekend last year by 63 percent. “This has been a great opportunity for Amtrak to demonstrate its capabilities during a very historic and high-profile time,” Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said. “The choice of an Amtrak train for

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Amtrak

Crescent Trains Temporarily Canceled Between Atlanta and New Orleans

ATLANTA — Due to track work by Norfolk Southern Railway, Amtrak’s Crescent Trains (Nos. 19 and 20) will not operate between Atlanta and New Orleans, La., on a number of dates. Alternate transportation will not be provided. The service will be affected Jan. 26-29, Feb. 2-5, Feb. 9-12 and Feb. 19. Southbound Train 19, which normally operates between New York and New Orleans, will originate in New York and will terminate in Atlanta on the dates shown above. This change affects Train 19 that originates in New York Sunday through Wednesday (Jan. 25-Feb. 18) and arrives in Atlanta the following