Action Alert: Please CALL and EMAIL your legislators TODAY

ALL,

The next major round of the federal budget appropriations process starts this week.

Please CALL and EMAIL your legislators TODAY. Ask them to Stand Up on the floor today and speak in favor of high-speed and intercity passenger rail!

The Fiscal Year 2012 House Energy & Water Development Appropriations Bill will be heading to the floor for debate today. It contains a provision stripping out high-speed rail money that was awarded in 2010 but has not yet been obligated (spent). If the bill is successful in rescinding that funding, the Midwest will lose critical rail projects and jobs.

- Instead of a much-needed rehab of the Chicago to Detroit line, service between Kalamazoo and Dearborn will drop to a slow 25-mph.

- A planned replacement of the outdated Midwest Amtrak fleet of rail cars will also not move forward.

- Other important projects will be lost throughout the United States as well. Here is a list, organized by congressional district, of all projects (and numbers of jobs) that will be lost.

At 6:00pm TONIGHT, there will be a Special Order - members of the U.S. House will speak out against the provision in this bill rescinding unobligated funds for HSIPR projects. It is important that house members who support high-speed rail Stand Up on the floor TODAY to speak in favor of preserving those funds.

This is the critical week for supporters of passenger rail to speak up and create a lot of noise. We have set up a webpage that will make it easier for you to reach out to your elected officials. It's called StandUpForTrains.org.

Please visit this website and enter your zip code at the bottom to contact your elected officials. Give their office a CALL TODAY and send a follow up EMAIL using the website. Then, tell a friend to email their legislators too! Let's flood these offices with thousands of calls from across the country, demonstrating the widespread support that exists for high-speed and intercity passenger rail!

 

Ken Prendergast
Executive Director
All Aboard Ohio
12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505
Cleveland, OH 44107
(216) 288-4883
kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org

JOIN US AT: www.allaboardohio.org

Media Alert

COLUMBUS CITY COUNCIL MEDIA ALERT   For Immediate Release:  July 8, 2011   For More Information: John Ivanic, (614) 645-6798 Web – Facebook – Twitter

 

 

Maryland Pool Opens Monday

 

(Columbus )--Columbus City Councilmember Zachary M. Klein, chair of the Recreation and Parks Committee, is pleased to announce the opening of Maryland Pool, 1380 Atcheson Street, Monday, July 11 at 1:30 pm. Councilmember Klein sponsored emergency legislation at the June 20 City Council meeting allowing the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department to use money in the Cultural Services Fund, dollars collected from the Hotel/Motel bed tax, to open the pool as quickly as possible.  

 

“This is great news for Columbus families and children”, said Klein.  "Pools provide positive places for our residents to spend summer days in a safe environment. I want to thank our Recreation and Parks Department staff, especially Director McKnight, for working so hard during the course of the last three weeks to get Maryland Pool up and running as quickly as they did."

 

In addition to Maryland Pool, workers are preparing to open Glenwood Pool, 1925 West Broad Street.  When both pools open, the City will have a total of six pools open this summer.  Other facilities include:

 

Dodge Pool-545 Sullivant Avenue

Marion Franklin Pool-2699 Lockbourne Rd

Tuttle Pool-240 W Oakland Ave

Windsor Pool-1300 Windsor Avenue

 

Admission at Columbus pools is free for residents with a city Leisure Card.   Cards can be purchased for $1.  Click here for more information on Leisure Cards. 

 

 

 

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Freight train derailment disrupting Ohio Amtrak service

After a freight train derailment July 6 destroyed a bridge over the Big Blue River in Morristown, Indiana about 20 miles southeast of Indianapolis, through passenger rail service has been severed on Amtrak's Cardinal route (with three-day-per-week trains in each direction between Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Charleston, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York City and 25 other station stops enroute; see:http://tinyurl.com/3fuwlby).

For the foreseeable future, Amtrak will be providing alternate bus transportation between CINCINNATI and INDIANAPOLIS/CHICAGO through at least early next week (except to/from Connersville, IN) and daily train service between CHI and IND for the duration. All Aboard Ohio hopes to learn know more from Amtrak and CSX early next week about when through Amtrak service can be restored to this route. Amtrak carries about 140,000 riders per year on this route, over which Amtrak has proposed to expand service to daily possibly by the end of 2011. Amtrak projects the daily service will cause the Cardinal's annual ridership to increase by 96 percent and reduce operating subsidies per passenger-mile by 31 percent (see: http://tinyurl.com/6hg5d9f).

Freight train derailment disrupting Amtrak service
Thursday, July 07, 2011

July 7, 2011 (MORRISTOWN, Ind.) (WLS) -- Amtrak service between New York and Chicago was disrupted Thursday after a freight train derailment in Indiana.

Amtrak says the derailment near Indianapolis affected the Cardinal line, which normally travels from Cincinnati to Indianapolis, then Chicago.

Due to the derailment, Amtrak passengers were told to get off the train in Cincinnati and take buses either directly to Chicago or to Indianapolis to catch another train.

READ MORE AT:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8236677

 

 

Ken Prendergast
Executive Director
All Aboard Ohio
12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505
Cleveland, OH 44107
(216) 288-4883
kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org
www.allaboardohio.org

Cleveland, Akron All Aboard Ohio meetings have new locations!

***NOTE LOCATION CHANGES TO CLEVELAND, AKRON LOCAL MEETINGS BELOW…

 

9th — Cleveland local meeting — 10 a.m. — NEW LOCATION!!! Koffie Cafe, 2517 Market Ave., across from the West Side Market in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. Contact Ken Prendergast at 216-288-4883.

 

9th — Toledo Local Meeting — 10 a.m. — Amtrak station, MLK Plaza, 415 Emerald Ave., Contact Bill Gill at 419-536-1924.

 

9th — Columbus Local Meeting — 10 a.m. — Grandview Public Library, 1685 W. First Ave., Contact Larry Robertson at 614-459-0359.

 

12th — Akron local meeting — 6 p.m. — NEW LOCATION!! The Lockview restaurant, 207 South Main Street (between the Civic Theater and Canal Park Stadium), downtown Akron, Contact Chris Niekamp at 330-608-2503.

 

12th — Cincinnati local meeting — 6:30 p.m. — Tower A at Union Terminal, 1301 Western Avenue, Contact: Beau Tuke at beautuke@yahoo.com

 

14th — Youngstown local meeting — 6 p.m. — Cassese's MVR, 410 North Walnut Street, Youngstown, Contact: John Fahnert at 330-565-5699.

 

16th — Summer Mtg & Family Outing — 10 a.m. — Mad River & NKP RR Museum, 253 Southwest St., Bellevue; Cost is $25 per member, or $40 for non-members (includes 1-year membership). Contact Ken Prendergast at 216-288-4883 or kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org to make late registrations.

 

_________________________

 

Ken Prendergast

Executive Director
All Aboard Ohio
12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505
Cleveland, OH 44107
(216) 288-4883
kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org
www.allaboardohio.org

 

The Case for Not-Quite-So-High-Speed Rail

I've ridden both lines compared at the start of the article. And even though the new, parallel 300km/h line opened between Frankfurt and Cologne, the old line along the Rhine was still filled with speedy, crowded passenger trains.....

July/August 2011
The Case for Not-Quite-So-High-Speed Rail
The bad news: Republicans have torpedoed plans for American bullet trains. The good news: The Obama administration is quietly building a slower, but potentially much better, rail system.
By Phillip Longman

After concluding some business in Frankfurt, Germany, recently, I found myself with a day to kill and decided to use it to tour the historic Cologne Cathedral, about 120 miles away. I could have rented a car and driven through traffic on the autobahn for about two hours, but instead I decided to walk a few blocks from my hotel and board Intercity-Express #616. The sleek bullet train left Frankfurt's magnificent nineteenth-century main terminal on time and sped along a super-engineered, beeline right-of-way completed in 2002 at a cost of $5.6 billion. The scenery wasn't much, as we were often in tunnels built to keep the line straight and fast. But the ride was smooth, quiet, and comfortable, even at 180 miles per hour, and in a mere fifty-six minutes the train arrived on time to the second within steps of the Cologne Cathedral. The fare was $109.

You might expect me at this point to proclaim, like so many Americans who have sojourned in Europe, Japan, or China on gleaming bullet trains, that what the United States needs now is a crash program to catch up with our peers in building high-speed rail for the twenty-first century. And, for the record, I will proclaim that. It's a vision almost all progressives have come to share, even as conservatives increasingly denounce it as creeping socialism, social engineering, or worse. But I'll make an important qualification that should inform the increasingly partisan debate about high-speed rail in this country—one that is illustrated by my trip back to Frankfurt later that afternoon.

READ MORE AT:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/julyaugust_2011/features/the_case_for_notquite_sohighsp030492.php

 

Ken Prendergast
Executive Director
All Aboard Ohio
12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505
Cleveland, OH 44107
(216) 288-4883
kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org
www.allaboardohio.org

Passenger rail creates jobs in Cincy area

Passenger rail does create economic development and jobs -- and could offer even more benefits for Ohio if Ohio actually invested in passenger rail.......

Siemens to create 50 local jobs

10:27 AM, Jul. 5, 2011 
Written by
The Enquirer

The Siemens electric motor plant in Norwood expects to create 50 jobs, part of about 250 created by the company to supply Amtrak with 70 energy efficient electric locomotives.

The Department of Transportation last week announced a $562.9 million loan guarantee to Amtrak to finance purchase of the locomotives from Siemens Industry USA. The Norwood plant will supply traction motors and gear units. Another 200 jobs will be created at Siemens plants in Alpharetta, Ga., and Sacramento, Calif.

The Amtrak loan is the largest made under the Federal Railroad Administration's Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program. The locomotives will replace older engines on Amtrak's Northeastern U.S. routes.

READ MORE AT:
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110705/BIZ01/307050045/Siemens-create-50-local-jobs

 

 

Ken Prendergast
Executive Director
All Aboard Ohio
12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505
Cleveland, OH 44107
(216) 288-4883
kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org
www.allaboardohio.org

Reminders: All Aboard Ohio summer mtg is June 16 + $250 Now Campaign

All Aboard Ohio $250 NOW Campaign

 

Hello members and friends! I am writing to inform you of a new campaign to support All Aboard Ohio in its efforts to promote passenger rail development in Ohio — conventional intercity, high-speed, regional commuter, light-rail and streetcars.

Columbus member Eric Childress has issued a generous challenge: the $250 NOW Campaign. Will 19 members and friends respond to his challenge? Twenty members donating $250 each will raise $5,000. That will pay for all office-related expenses for the rest of the year! (KJP UPDATE: we need only a few more donations to reach our goal!).

All Aboard Ohio has a great office space in downtown Columbus with very affordable rent. Phone, internet and office supply expenses bring our total office expense for the rest of the year to $6,000. All Aboard Ohio is undertaking cost-saving measures that will reduce those expenses to $5,000. We think that's very affordable considering the downtown location where our volunteers and interns will work this summer on mailings, phone campaigning, and spreading the word on the importance of Ohio having real transportation choices.

Will you help All Aboard Ohio meet the $250 NOW Campaign challenge? Remember All Aboard Ohio is a 501c3 nonprofit association and that dues and donations may be tax-deductible in accordance with the IRS code.

Please send your donations payable to "All Aboard Ohio" to:

 

Ken Clifford, Treasurer

All Aboard Ohio

11817 Choctaw Drive

Medway, OH 45341

(937) 849-4400

ken_clifford_cpa@earthlink.net

 

Thank you!

 

 

Register today for the Summer Meeting & Family Outing in Bellevue, OH!

 

Please join us Saturday July 16, 2011 at 10 a.m. (registration starts at 9:30 a.m.) for the All Aboard Ohio Summer Meeting & Family Outing to be held at theFreight House at the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum, 253 Southwest St., Bellevue, located in north-central Ohio. Take US 20, Ohio 4, Ohio 18 and/or Ohio 269 into Bellevue.

For a map and directions, visit:
http://www.madrivermuseum.org/visitors.html

At the meeting, Midwest High Speed Rail Association Executive Director Rick Harnish will discuss the growing interest in and prospects for the development of east-west passenger rail in Ohio — improving Amtrak and building high-speed rail. Also, Mad River & NKP RR Museum President Chris Beamer will give attendees an orientation on the museum and what's new. All Aboard Ohio officers, staff and volunteers will update members on the state of the association and its advocacy efforts.

There will be morning refreshments, pastries and fresh fruit. After the morning business meeting, attendees will enjoy boxed lunches with on-site choices of ham, beef or turkey sandwiches. After lunch, you are invited to tour the large Mad River & NKP RR Museum.

Cost is $25 per member, or $40 for non-members (includes 1-year membership).

To register, please print the registration postcard HERE and mail the coupon with a check payable to "All Aboard Ohio", 12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505, Lakewood, OH 44017. Late registrations can be accepted up until July 11 by calling (216) 288-4883 and then pay at the door.

 

Other July 2011 All Aboard Ohio meetings are:

9th — Cleveland local meeting — 10 a.m. — Franklin Circle Church second floor mtg room, 1688 Fulton Road, Ohio City. Contact Ken Prendergast at 216-288-4883.

9th — Toledo Local Meeting — 10 a.m. — Amtrak station, MLK Plaza, 415 Emerald Ave., Contact Bill Gill at 419-536-1924.

9th — Columbus Local Meeting — 10 a.m. — Grandview Public Library, 1685 W. First Ave., Contact Larry Robertson at 614-459-0359.

12th — Akron local meeting — 6 p.m. — Uncorked Wine Bar, 22 North High Street, Akron, Contact Chris Niekamp at 330-608-2503.

12th — Cincinnati local meeting — 6:30 p.m. — Tower A at Union Terminal, 1301 Western Avenue, Contact: Beau Tuke at beautuke@yahoo.com

14th — Youngstown local meeting — 6 p.m. — Cassese's MVR, 410 North Walnut Street, Youngstown, Contact: John Fahnert at 330-565-5699.

16th — Summer Mtg & Family Outing — 10 a.m. — Mad River & NKP RR Museum, 253 Southwest St., Bellevue; Cost is $25 per member, or $40 for non-members (includes 1-year membership). Contact Ken Prendergast at 216-288-4883.

 

Ken Prendergast
Executive Director
All Aboard Ohio
12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505
Cleveland, OH 44107
(216) 288-4883
kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org
www.allaboardohio.org