Saturday, September 8, 10 am – 2 pm
Durand Union Station
200 Railroad St, Durand MI 48429
(989) 288-3561

MARP Members and the interested public:

By now you should have received in the mail a notice for the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers Annual Meeting to be held at Durand Union Station at 10am, September 8, 2007. This will serve as a reminder for this important meeting. If you have not received the mail notice, please click here to download a registration form.

Our Keynote Speaker will be State Representative Hoon-Yung Hopgood, Chair of the House Transportation Committee. His committee, its Public Transit Subcommittee, and the House-Senate Transit Caucus serve as important venues in Lansing for rail passengers to voice their support for continued and expanded intercity passenger rail service.

MARP Executive Director John DeLora will present a preview of a great presentation he has prepared for the upcoming Michigan Railroad Historical Conference. John’s presentation addresses the history of passenger rail in Michigan, with focus on Amtrak and MARP.

MARP will also be unveiling its passenger rail vision for Michigan, which compliments the vision recently announced for the Amtrak national system by the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

We will hold a short business meeting which will include the election of officers for the 2007-2009 term.

The Annual Meeting is always an opportunity to renew old acquaintances and meet new people involved with passenger rail. The cost is $20 per person, and is open to members and non-members. A catered meal will be served.

I hope to see you in Durand on September 8.

Michael Whims
Chairman
marprail@yahoo.com

MARP Members:
Please join us on Saturday, July 14, 2007 for the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers Member Meeting in Lapeer, Michigan. We are meeting at the recently renovated Lapeer Station, which is located at 73 Howard Street. From the I-69 Lapeer exit #155, go north 1.8 miles on M-24 (Lapeer Road or Main Street) past the RR tracks to Genesee St. Turn east ½ mile to Court Street, then south to Howard St. The meeting will begin at 10 am.

As always, we will be discussing and reporting on issues important to Michigan passenger rail. Attendance at the meeting is free. Dress code is casual. The agenda is posted and minutes of previous meetings are available on the meetings page.

Following the business meeting, the Route Enhancement Committee will be conducting a work session on MARP’s passenger rail Vision of what intercity passenger rail and bus service should look like in 2025. MARP’s Vision will become our master plan for future action. If you are interested in taking part in the development of the Vision, please stay for the work session.

MARP Activity and Events
Those who attended the June meeting in Durand were treated to a very informative presentation by Mike Bagwell, president of Great Lakes Central Railroad. After the meeting, we toured former Metra commuter rail equipment that GLC is planning to use on the proposed Ann Arbor-Howell commuter rail service. Other recent and planned activities include:
• MARP recently spoke before the Bipartisan Legislative Transit Caucus in Lansing about the economic benefits of passenger rail for Michigan, and has been asked to appear before the House Transit Subcommittee in the near future.
• Following a recent Michigan House joint committee hearing, MARP had a chance to meet and talk about the needs for better passenger rail service in Michigan with Amtrak President Alex Kummant.
• MARP members participated in “Michigan Day” at Chicago Union Station, hosted by a number of State tourist agencies, to promote Michigan passenger rail and tourism to thousands of Chicagoland commuters.
• MARP will staff a joint table with NARP at the huge National Model Railroad Association national convention in Detroit July 27-29. If you would like to help out, contact me soon.

Don’t forget that MARP’s Annual Meeting at Durand Union Station is coming up on September 8, 2007. Mark your calendar now. You will be receiving registration information soon.

If you haven’t renewed your MARP membership for 2007, please do so as soon as possible. If you did not receive a renewal card in the mail, email marprail@yahoo.com. Our primary expense is the Michigan Passenger newspaper, which we would like to continue publishing regularly.

I hope to see you in Lapeer on July 14.

Michael Whims
Chairman

MARP Members:
Please join us on Saturday, June 16, 2007 for the MARP Member Meeting in Durand, Michigan. We are meeting at the Durand Union Station, which is located off Main Steet (Grand Blanc Road) just east of town. Take Main Street east to Russell Street, south to Ann Arbor Street, the west to the station. The meeting will begin at 10 am.

I am pleased to announce that Mike Bagwell, President of Great Lakes Central Railroad, will be the guest speaker at MARP’s June 16 meeing at Durand Union Station. Mr. Bagwell will speak about his railroad’s involvement in the proposed Ann Arbor-Howell regional passenger rail plan and other passenger rail issues.

As always, we will be discussing and reporting on issues important to Michigan passenger rail. The Durand Union Station is also one of the better train-watching spots. Attendance at the meeting is free. Dress code is casual. Click HERE for the meeting agenda. The minutes of previous meetings are available by clicking HERE.

One of the items of business this time will be developing nominations for the Executive Committee for this September’s election. As a volunteer organization, we understand that people have busy lives and limited time to spend with advocacy efforts. Terms of office are therefore kept relatively short and requests for people’s time are kept at reasonable levels. If you are interested in being more involved with passenger rail, this is the meeting to attend.

If you haven’t renewed your MARP membership for 2007, please do so as soon as possible. If you did not receive a renewal card in the mail, email marprail@yahoo.com. Our primary expense is the Michigan Passenger newspaper, which we would like to continue publishing regularly. If your membership is paid up for 2007, you should have received the Spring 2007 newspaper in the mail. If you did not receive it, your membership is most likely not paid for 2007.

I hope to see you in Durand on June 16.

Michael Whims
Chairman

MARP Members:
Please join us on Saturday, May 12, 2007 for the MARP Member Meeting in Holland, Michigan. We are meeting at the Padnos Transportation Center (Amtrak station), 171 Lincoln Ave. A map is provided at the MARP website in the “meetings” section. Free parking is available across the tracks from the station in the annex parking lot which located at 261 East 8th Street. The meeting will begin at 10 am.

Our previous two monthly meetings, held in Kalamazoo and Royal Oak, experienced some of the best attendance we have seen in years. As always, we will be discussing and reporting on issues important to Michigan passenger rail, with a special report this time on the CSX Transportation activities on its route from Plymouth, MI to Porter, IN which includes the route of the Pere Marquette. Our meeting in Holland also coincides with Tulip Time. We have arranged reservations at the New Holland Brewing Company for ordering your lunch off the menu after the meeting, and watching the Tulip Time parade for those interested.

Attendance at the meeting is free. Dress code is casual. The agenda for the meeting will be posted at www.marp.org about a week prior to the meeting. Minutes of previous meetings are posted at the website.

If you haven’t renewed your MARP membership for 2007, please do so as soon as possible. If you did not receive a renewal card in the mail, email marprail@yahoo.com. Our primary expense is the Michigan Passenger newspaper, which we would like to continue publishing regularly. You should have received the Spring, 2007 issue in the mail by now.

I hope to see you in Holland on May 12.

Michael Whims
Chairman

Attendance at the meeting is free. Dress code is casual. The agenda for the meeting will be posted at www.marp.org about a week prior to the meeting. Minutes of previous meetings (including March 10, 2007) are posted at the website.

If you haven’t renewed your MARP membership for 2007, please do so as soon as possible. If you did not receive a renewal card in the mail, email marprail@yahoo.com. Our primary expense is the Michigan Passenger newspaper, which we would like to continue publishing regularly. The next issue is scheduled to be out in April.

I hope to see you in Royal Oak on April 14.

Michael Whims
Chairman