Latest Amtrak & Rail News:

For the latest on fast-moving Amtrak developments, check the Web site of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. Look for the Hotline link and a separate link for its vision of a 21st Century passenger network. The NARP Hotline is updated each Friday afternoon, and more often if events warrant. For the latest Amtrak-relevant articles from American newspapers, also check out Amtrak Crisis.

Meetings:

Stay tuned for more information on our next meeting! For more details, click here.

Rail Advocacy:

ProRail has a brochure explaining all the reasons the Dane County Airport on Madison's northeast side is its first choice for a train station location. Copies are available upon request.

Rail Travel:

Amtrak Adds Mapquest to its Web Site
Amtrak has added the popular Mapquest location-finding service to its Web site. The service will help travelers confirm the location of stations before making their reservations. For more details, go to our Latest ProRail & Rail News Page.

Guide to Area Amtrak Stations
For a detailed ProRail guide to Amtrak stations in the Madison area, click here. A new browser window will open.

We're Served by the Empire Builder
For a ProRail guide to Amtrak's long-distance train serving central Wisconsin, click here. A new browser window will open.

AMTRAK'S FUNDING THREATENED AGAIN!

News accounts tied to President Bush's State of the Union Speech Feb. 3 reported that the Bush Administration will propose zero funding for Amtrak for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. "Any zero budget request would end intercity passenger rail for Americans, notwithstanding Administration claims to the contrary," according to the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

For NARP's Feb. 2 news release and subsequent updates, go to the organization's Web site at http://www.narprail.org. Also click on the "Hotline" link you'll find there for the latest weekly NARP news update on funding and other rail passenger matters. Please revisit the Web site often in the weeks ahead.

For a list of public officials and others to contact to express your support for more rail passenger service, click here: http://www.prorail.com/contacts.html

For ideas about what else you can do to maintain and expand our existing rail passenger service, look at this list of action ideas: http://www.prorail.com/action.html

Milwaukee's new Amtrak station at Gen. Mitchell International Airport now is open for service. The first trains stopped at the station Jan. 18. For more details, go to our Jan. 18 news entry at http://www.prorail.com/news.html and also visit Amtrak's Hiawatha trains Web site at http://amtrakhiawatha.com

The National Associaton of Railroad Passengers has issued a new one-page leaflet that proclaims: "Nationwide Service is Threatened! Help Save Our Trains!"

The main thrust of the leaflet is that the best way to ensure continuation of a nationwide train service, with improvements aimed at reaching a state of good repair (for the first time), is for Amtrak to get its requested level of $1.812 billion in federal funding in fiscal 2004.

The leaflet points out the extent to which funding historically has fallen short of a basic, subsistence level. "A rail network can't be run for nothing, or even a fraction of its real cost, and it's time our leaders heard that from the public," says NARP in announcing the new flyer.

ProRail has posted a current version of an action leaflet on this web site, in pdf format. This leaflet may be printed out and copied, if you wish to distribute it. Download it at http://www.prorail.com/leaf0408.pdf.

It's also available on the NARP Web site, at: http://www.narprail.org/flyer.htm.

A two-day survey of passengers on Amtrak's Milwaukee-Chicago Hiawatha Service had respondents giving high marks to the train's on-time performance, trip time and convenience, according to preliminary results announced April 4 by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. For more details, click here.

Survey Results Available
Copies of a four-page report on our 2002 survey of the Wisconsin public about their attitudes toward rail service now are available at no charge from ProRail. The publication is in a newspaper format, with selected survey results and related information. Go to the Latest ProRail & Rail News page for more details on the survey itself.

For single copies, send ProRail a self-adhesive, self-addressed mailing label and 37 cents in stamps (no cash or envelopes, please).

For multiple copies, send us a 9 x 12-inch (or larger) manila (or similar) envelope addressed to the sender and with the sender's return address shown, and include stamps in the correct amount. Each manila envelope can accommodate up to 12 copies. To determine postage, multiply 0.8 ounces by the number of copies requested, then figure postage at 37 cents for the first ounce and 23 cents for additional ounces. No cash, please.

Send to ProRail Survey, PO Box 5401-0401, Madison, WI 53705.

AARP Member? If you're a member of the American Association of Retired Persons, we have a special message for you about how you can help keep the trains running. Please click on Latest ProRail and Rail News for details.

Have questions about Amtrak stations in our Area?
ProRail has posted information about Amtrak stations in Columbus, Portage, and Wisconsin Dells at a supplemental ProRail Web site at http://www.madison.com/ communities/prorail/pages/ stations.php

There's also information there about Chicago-area Metra stations in Harvard and Fox Lake, Ill, which those connecting with Amtrak trains in Chicago sometimes use.

Contacting Congress
It's important that rail passenger advocates continue to make their voices heard on the importance of a national rail passenger network and related issues.

We suggest that, for the time being, you communicate by e-mail and phone with the district offices of members of Congress, and that any written communications either be hand-delivered to those offices or confined to post cards.

But please don't be silent at this critical time for the future of Amtrak and a national rail passenger system.

To find out who your Representative is, go to http://www.house.gov/writerep and follow the directions posted there. You also will be able to send an e-mail online to that person.

For contact information about your senators, go to http://www.senate.gov/ contacting/index_by_state.cfm. From there, you'll be able to go directly to their Web sites, which usually include lists of their district office locations, and also send them e-mail online.

If you already know who your elected representatives are and simply need mailing addresses, go to our Area Contacts list at this Web site.