March 9 Summit to Spur Progress on Northwest High Speed Rail

Next Tuesday, March 9, elected officials, rail industry experts, agency representatives and others will gather in Eugene to chart a course for implementing high speed rail along the entire Northwest Corridor. The summit will feature a number of prominent experts on rail transportation, including comments from Congressman Peter DeFazio on the importance of rail development in the northwest, delivered via video.
 
The summit is March 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Center for Meeting and Learning at Lane Community College. Lunch is included with the $25.00 registration. Interested participants can register at www.lanecc.edu/cml/upcoming.htm. The summit is open to anyone with an active interest in participating in implementation of high speed rail in the northwest.

The Obama administration and Congress are moving in a new direction to fund high speed rail in the United States.  With the recent announcement that $598 million in federal ARRA funding is coming to the Northwest Corridor, plans for how Oregon and Washington will move forward with high speed rail are picking up steam.  The State of Washington will receive the vast majority, $590 million, of the ARRA funds.  George Xu, Executive Manager of Strategic Planning and Research, Washington Department of Transportation, will present Washington’s vision for the future of the NW rail corridor.  Representatives from the Oregon Department of Transportation will unveil Oregon’s updated rail plan for the first time. 

The summit key note speaker is Rod Diridon, Sr., Executive Director of the congressionally created Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University in California. He is chair emeritus and current member of the California High Speed Rail (HSR) Authority Board.

Other planned speakers include: Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy; State Representatives Nancy Nathanson and E. Terry Beyer; Gail Achterman, Chair, Oregon Transportation Commission; and Kelly Taylor, ODOT Rail Division Administrator.

"The development of higher speed rail will have real benefits for our economic future, providing much-needed jobs, reducing carbon emissions and more efficiently moving goods and people throughout the corridor,“ said Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy.  “I look forward to working with all our regional and national partners to keep us moving. This is a crucial time to focus on where we need to go as a country, and Eugene is more than ready.”

The summit is sponsored by Parsons, The Cascadia Institute, Lane Community College, Talgo, Lane Transit District, The Ulum Group, the Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates (AORTA) and the City of Eugene.

CONTACT: Brenda Wilson, Intergovernmental Relations Manager, 541-971-2208
  Margaret Harter, Mayor and Council Assistant, 541-682-8340