National Train Day

"Only National Train Day celebration between New York & Boston"

Rail*Trains*Ecology*Cycling, a grassroots, passenger rail advocacy group, will host a National Train Day event on Saturday, May 10, 2008 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at New Haven Union Station (to commemorate the completion at Promontory Summit, Utah, of the first transcontinental railroad system on May 10, 1869. The event will celebrate that anniversary and call on policymakers to renew their commitment to a national passenger train and commuter rail grid.

This gathering will be a speaker-driven event in which local and state officials and grassroots leaders will impress the need for more sensible investment in our train corridors, including the Northeast Corridor and the New York, New Haven, Hartford, Springfield corridor and stress the importance of integrating bicycles and trains, as a strategic multi modal option.

Who: Rail*Trains*Ecology*Cycling is hosting the National Train Day New Haven in co-ordination with National Association of Rail Passengers.

Speakers include: State Rep Tom Kehoe, 31^st Assembly District – (Glastonbury); Michael Piscitelli, Director of Transportation, Traffic & Parking Development for the City of New Haven; Mark Abraham, sustainability advocate associated with Elm City Cycling and Molly McKay, Transportation Chair Connecticut Sierra Club

            What:  Non-alcoholic drinks will be served

Where: New Haven Union Station, 50 Union Street New Haven CT 06519 2^nd Floor South Balcony - accessible by elevator (between station door entry from pick-up, drop-off driveway and escalators to platforms.)

When: Sat. May 10, 2008 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Noting that sticker shock at the gas pump is matched by increasing congestion on the roadways and in the air, and that polls, referenda, and ridership data on train systems across the country all point to a demand for more trains, the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) and its local affiliates are sponsoring events at stations across the country that highlight the role of passenger trains in a networked transportation system. 

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Contacts:

Richard Stowe - phone (203) 594-9097, bike.rail.politics@...

Mark Abraham – cell (203) 500-7059

Brief background on speakers:

State Rep Tom Kehoe (31^st Assembly District – Glastonbury) will be the keynote speaker.  An attorney by trade, State Rep Kehoe is a strong supporter of mass transit and ardent supporter of improving conditions for bicyclists in Connecticut.

Michael Piscitelli, Director of Transportation, Traffic & Parking Development for the City of New Haven, will outline a green vision of inter-modal transportation, which is emerging in New Haven.

Mark Abraham, an advocate from the grassroots community group Elm City Cycling will share his thoughts about the importance of responsible community development planning, cycling and train travel in providing choices other than automobile dependency in the era of rising gasoline prices.

Molly McKay, Transportation Chair of Connecticut Sierra Club and the online editor of National Corridors Initiative, will inform us of vision and strategies National Corridor Initiative, is pursuing currently.

Richard Stowe, founder and director of Rail*Trains*Ecology*Cycling, a commuter rail and bicycle advocate who has championed integrating bikes on trains, will emcee National Train Day New Haven