IOWA ASSOCIATION OF RAILROAD PASSENGERS
3349 Southgate CT SW #108
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404-5424
www.simpson.edu/~iarp or
Patrick Hendricks 515-282-9289 utuiowa@qwest.net or
Eliot Keller 319-363-2061 Eliot@kzia.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
09/14/07


State rail passenger group to meet in Iowa Falls

        Iowa Falls, Iowa – The Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers will meet Saturday, October 6, 2007, in Iowa Falls. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Iowa Falls Union Depot, East Rocksylvania Avenue and Depot Street, Iowa Falls, Iowa. The depot is now a historical museum.
        Various local, state and federal officials are being invited to address the group.
        Other speakers at the meeting are expected to include Patrick “Pat” Hendricks. Hendricks is one of the four Commissioners from Iowa who are members of the nine state Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission. Hendricks is also president of the Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers and State Director, Iowa Legislative Board of the United Transportation Union (UTU).
        Richard F. “Dick” Welch, member of the Advisory Board of the National Association of Railroad Passengers and former Region 10 Director, is also expected to update the group on national passenger train issues.
        Topics to be discussed will include the current status of federal legislation supporting the national rail passenger system and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak).
        Additional updates are expected on the Amtrak feasibility study which is underway to provide passenger trains from Chicago to Iowa City and is due out in October. Updates are also expected on the Amtrak feasibility study completed this spring to provide passenger trains from Chicago to Dubuque.
        More updates will include the Cedar Rapids Light Rail Initiative Committee which is working toward the formation of the four-county Cedar-Iowa River Rail Transit Corridor Project and what the committee is doing to make this project happen. The project would link Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Amana with excursion passenger train and eventual commuter train service.
        More than 2000 passengers rode a demonstration train on the Cedar Rapids to Iowa City portion of the route in August.
        Hendricks says the public is invited, welcomed and encouraged to attend the program and meeting.
        Hendricks says the Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers is a state-wide non-profit, non-partisan group that supports rail service, both passenger and freight. Hendricks says the group meets at various locations throughout the state. Previous recent meeting sites have included: Cedar Rapids, Iowa City (Coralville), Marshalltown, Grinnell, Little Amana, and Des Moines.
        Attendees may gather informally at 11:30 a.m. at Camp David’s Restaurant, 119 Main Street, Iowa Falls, for a pre-meeting lunch off the menu. Meals will be paid for by each individual participating in the lunch.
        The program and business meeting will start at 1:00 p.m. at the Iowa Falls Union Depot. The meeting is free and open to the public.
        Hendricks says that, although not directly affiliated with the National Association of Railroad Passengers (www.narprail.org ), the Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers is supportive of the goals of the national group.
        Membership information is available by writing to the Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers, 3349 Southgate Court SW Suite #108, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404-5424 or by calling (319) 362-6824 or going to the association's website at www.simpson.edu/~iarp.
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