Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
Invites You to Learn About
“Amtrak’s Plan to Expand Ohio Train Services”
Thursday, 18 March 2021
5:00 PM Eastern Time

Please plan to join us “virtually” as we talk with Stu Nicholson, Executive Director of All Aboard Ohio, about Amtrak’s proposal for new and expanded passenger train services in Ohio.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84178735512?pwd=Um1zS1BhUmdvYmtIcG5Ha3dDbml3Zz09

Or Phone:   312 626 6799
Meeting ID:   841 7873 5512

Passcode:   576546

If you are new to Zoom, you will find this short video helpful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9isp3qPeQ0E

“This Corridor Development Program is a major policy shift for Amtrak. Since it began in 1971, Amtrak has been largely reactive and not proactive when it comes to its growth. This policy shift is very welcome and long overdue when it comes to dealing with states like Ohio that have almost no service and thus almost no political constituency to create a passenger rail development program. We hope that Congress will authorize and fully fund this Corridor Development Program.”  

 — All Aboard Ohio Executive Director Stu Nicholson in a 02 March 2020 news release

Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
47th Annual Meeting
Saturday, October 17, 2020
10:00 a.m. –Noon

Featuring Gene Skoropowski
Former manager of California’s Capital Corridor
Former Sr. VP of Passenger Rail Development for All Aboard Florida

With the coronavirus still with us, this year’s Annual Meeting will be held “virtually” via Zoom on Saturday, October 17, beginning at 10:00 a.m. We hope you will all plan to be with us for what promises to be an outstanding program.

Our keynote speaker will be Mr. Eugene K. “Gene” Skoropowski who is widely recognized for making the Capitol Corridor service in California one of the best performing trains in Amtrak’s National Network. He recently spoke before the Virginia Rail Policy Institute on “Working Collegially With The Host Railroads”, describing how development of a good working relationship with Union Pacific was key to improving on- time-performance and increasing frequency on the corridor from 4 daily round trips to 16. He later moved to Florida where he led the organization and startup of the Brightline Express, the privately financed high-speed train linking Miami and West Palm Beach, with plans to extend to Orlando.

We will also hear briefly from former Congressman John J.H. “Joe” Schwarz, one of our state’s most enthusiastic supporters of passenger train service. Joe has worked, largely behind the scenes, during the administrations of Governors of both parties to keep our trains running. He will have something to say about how we navigate the perilous times ahead.

You will find information below for accessing the meeting via Zoom.

Following the speakers, we will conduct a short business meeting to elect officers for the

2020-2022 term. Please take a look at the attached minutes of last year’s Annual Meeting. There will also be an opportunity for member comments and discussion of MARP activities in the next year.

Plan to join the meeting a few minutes before 10:00 AM on Oct. 17 by clicking the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84978467783?pwd=K1Z2OTF0WGkzcnFRZDVWWWVYcHFjQT09

Passcode: 166060

Webinar ID: 849 7846 7783

Or iPhone one-tap :

+13126266799,,84978467783#   or  +16465588656,,84978467783#

Or Telephone (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

+1 312 626 6799 (Chicago)   or  +1 646 558 8656   or  +1 301 715 8592 or  +1 346 248 7799   or   +1 669 900 9128   or  +1 253 215 8782

International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kd8iZo9xk5

If you are unfamiliar with using Zoom, you will find this short video helpful.

How to Join a Zoom Call for the First Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9isp3qPeQ0E

The Zoom app will download automatically when you join your first Zoom meeting, and is also available for manual download here.   https://zoom.us/download

If you have questions or would like to request a “practice” session, reply to this email with your question/request.

MARP Member Meeting
Online via Zoom
Thursday, 10 September 2020
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm ET

Please plan to join us on Thursday, September 10, at 6:30 pm ET for MARP’s second “virtual” meeting. We will hear from Clark Harder who is the Executive Director of the Michigan Public Transit Association to learn how transit in our state is coping with the challenges of the pandermic and what the plans are for moving forward.

Zoom Meeting log in information
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82257390948?pwd=eXJjSytMZ2VJdTFvVU1SZ293QlF5dz09
Meeting ID: 822 5739 0948
Passcode: 507145

Also on the program is Megan Owens who has led Transpotation Riders United (TRU) for more than a decade in working at the grassroots level to improve transit service in the Detroit metropolitan area. Despite the set-backs in getting the Regional Transportation Authority fully off the ground, Detroit has made significant progress over the last few years in improving bus services and introducing new mobility options for people.

We will also have updates on Amtrak services in Michigan and elsewhere.as well as the restart of intercity bus services.

This will be a good opportunity for those of you who have not participated in a Zoom meeting to get familiar with the platform in advance of MARP’s 47^th Annual Meeting which will take place on October 17. That will be a meeting you don’t want to miss. We are fortunate to have as our keynote speaker for that meeting, Mr. Gene Skoropowski widely recognized for making the Capitol Corridor service from San Jose to Sacramento a model of success and then leading the development of the Brightline service in Florida.

One last thing before we go: please CLICK HERE to go to Rail Passengers Association Action Page and add your voice to the chorus calling on Congress to save daily service on Amtrak’s long-distance routes. Weakening the National Netowrk will inevitably affect our Michigan trains and the Midwest regional system.

See you online on Thursday!

MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF RAILROAD PASSENGERS

Due to the uncertainties of the COVID-19 outbreak, MARP is suspending face-to-face meetings for the next few months. We hope to be able to re-schedule the 47^th Annual Meeting for mid-October in Jackson. In addition, we are studying the possibility of holding “virtual” meetings online in order to stay in touch during these challenging times.

In the meantime, we hope you are staying well and in a safe place. There will be huge challenges ahead and we will need all of you more than ever to insure that our train services continue and even expand.

— Your Executive Committee