Support for passenger rail continues to grow, with your help

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Have you ever looked at the profiles of your friends on social media in passenger train groups? The other groups they belong to? The pages they like? The posts they make? You might be surprised at the range of political beliefs in the Amtrak communities on Facebook.

What's more, the number of people asking to join these groups is growing... a lot. The admins of the passenger train groups on Facebook are hard-pressed to keep up with the requests to join. And the membership of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, as it celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year, is booming.

So don't let the pundits make unwarranted and incorrect assumptions about the level of support for passenger rail. It's strong, and continues to get stronger.

But we need to make our voices heard, in Washington, DC, and beyond--especially in our state legislatures, since a large amount of passenger train service is paid for by the states.

And do you want more service, or service in places where it's lacking? That will only happen from the bottom up -- if we push our local councils, business groups, and mayors to remind the legislators and Congressional representatives how important passenger rail is to the health and development of our local communities.

There are many ways that all of us can work to improve passenger rail. Please check this list. Let's all work together to keep trains on track!