NARP Issues Statement to Surface Transportation Board on Texas Central Initiative

For Immediate Release (#16-13)

Contact:

Robert Brady – (202) 680-4951

Private Capital Has Important Role in Building Transportation Infrastructure

Washington, D.C. – On May 24, 2016, Jim Mathews, President and CEO of the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), released a letter to members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) in support of the Texas Central high-speed rail project. As an advocacy group working on behalf of more than 29,000 members, and more than 40 million fare-paying passengers nationwide, NARP sees the high-speed rail project between Dallas and Houston as having a lasting impact on the rail system and multimodal connectivity in the U.S.

“NARP believes the Texas Central initiative is an important demonstration of the role private capital can and must play in building our new transportation economy, and is thus an important private project of national significance, introducing a new high-speed rail option between the two largest metropolitan regions in Texas,” Mathews said in the letter. “Connecting these two regions by passenger rail for the first time will have a significant, positive effect on the entire interstate rail network.”

The letter provides NARP an opportunity to voice its members’ support for “A Connected America,” a multi-year initiative to promote long-distance, intercity, rail, commuter trains, light rail, transit and even bike share. The Texas Central initiative is a prime example of a project that will meet these goals, and inject an estimated $4.3 billion into the region during its construction phase in 2018 to 2021 alone.

The letter was presented to Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III, Vice Chairman Deb Miller, and Member Ann D. Begeman, and the full content of the letter can be viewed here.

About the National Association of Railroad Passengers

NARP is the only national organization speaking for the nearly 40 million users of passenger trains and rail transit. We have worked since 1967 to expand the quality and quantity of passenger rail in the U.S. Our mission is to work towards a modern, customer-focused national passenger train network that provides a travel choice Americans want. Our work is supported by more than 28,000 individual members nationwide.

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