Happening Now
Rail Passengers Statement on Shooting in Tucson, AZ
October 4, 2021
Rail Passengers Association CEO Jim Mathews issued the following statement on the shooting incident on the Amtrak Sunset Limited in Tucson, AZ:
"My heart sank today as I saw yet another episode of senseless violence, this time not just at the station but onboard the train. Early reports suggest that at least one of the responding officers was killed. Rail Passengers offers its condolences to everyone affected, and urges the public to keep the crew and passengers in their thoughts. Although incidents like this are exceedingly rare, overall levels of violence on board trains have been rising through the summer, just as they have on airliners and buses. In fact, in July we understand that the number of incidents on board Amtrak trains was twice as high as in previous months. Even before this incident, our Association was working alongside railway labor to tighten protections for onboard crews and passengers. Today's tragic shooting shows that can't let up on those efforts."
"The National Association of Railroad Passengers has done yeoman work over the years and in fact if it weren’t for NARP, I'd be surprised if Amtrak were still in possession of as a large a network as they have. So they've done good work, they're very good on the factual case."
Robert Gallamore, Director of Transportation Center at Northwestern University and former Federal Railroad Administration official, Director of Transportation Center at Northwestern University
November 17, 2005, on The Leonard Lopate Show (with guest host Chris Bannon), WNYC New York.
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