EWI Launches Ohio Passenger Rail Manufacturing Center

Please note this is a press-release, not a restricted use news article:

http://www.cleveland.com/business/prnewswire/index.ssf?/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=cleveland.story&STORY=/www/story/08-11-2010/0005290325&EDATE=Aug+11,+2010

EWI Launches Passenger Rail Manufacturing Center
Center Aims to Stimulate State and National Manufacturing
Competitiveness and Jobs

    COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- EWI launched a
first-of-its-kind Passenger Rail Manufacturing Center from its headquarters
in Columbus, Ohio. The mission of the Center is to develop and strengthen
manufacturing supply chains for the rail and rolling stock industries,
improve railroad product affordability, and develop technical innovations
that will allow railroad manufacturers to collaborate effectively with OEMs
(original equipment manufacturers) and deliver a new wave of manufacturing
job opportunities at the state and national level.

    Establishing the Passenger Rail Manufacturing Center is a strategic
move by EWI based on data predicting that passenger rail service will
experience strong national and international growth in the coming decades,
driving the need for new and improved passenger rail equipment and
infrastructure.

    Launched by a start-up grant from the Ohio Department of Development
(ODOD), the Passenger Rail Manufacturing Center intends to assist Ohio
manufacturers in securing a leading share of the emerging passenger rail
market and in exploiting the capabilities of underutilized manufacturing
plants and workers.

    As the leading national authority on materials joining and allied
manufacturing technologies, and an innovator of repair technologies for
rail manufacturers, EWI is uniquely positioned to manage Passenger Rail
Manufacturing Center operations and realize its goals. Says Suhas Vaze,
Director of the new Center, "One of the fastest ways to achieve
introduction and adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies for a
U.S.-based passenger rail industry is to actively facilitate and manage
technology transfer from the U.S. Department of Defense, oil & gas,
aviation, and automotive supply chains to rail industry supply chains. EWI
has been a highly effective technology bridge for these supply chains for
more than two decades and we are well-positioned to serve as the technology
bridge for stronger rail car supply chains."

    The Passenger Rail Manufacturing Center is one of five centers and
consortia operated by EWI that establish public/private partnerships to
advance U.S. manufacturing competitiveness.

    About EWI

    EWI is a leading engineering and technology organization dedicated to
materials joining and allied technologies. We provide applied research,
manufacturing support, and strategic services to nearly 2,800 member
company locations of global leaders in the aerospace, automotive, defense,
energy and chemical, government, heavy manufacturing, and electronics
industries. Visit ewi.org for more information.

Can Conservatives Ride "No Train" To Victory?

A very fair, interesting, research-driven article that also touches on false statements made about the Ohio 3C Corridor .....

Can Conservatives Ride "No Train" To Victory?
By Bill Scher
August 17, 2010 - 3:37pm ET

This week, Wisconsin Republican primary gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker caught the attention of Washington pundits with his latest ad, because it features the candidate attacking President Obama with smug condescension and sarcasm.

But I was struck because Walker his betting his campaign on stopping Wisconsin's planned high-speed rail link. Even though it would create jobs. Even though it has already received federal funds. Even though the project has already begun. In fact, as the Wisconsin State Journal reported, Walker believes "the state giving back millions of dollars, even money that's already been spent, would be better than finishing the rail project."

Walker has even created an separate online campaign called NoTrain.com, in keeping with the Republican "No We Can't" theme.

READ MORE AT:
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010083317/can-conservatives-ride-no-train-victory

 

 

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

Press Release

August 16, 2010

For Immediate Release

Contact: James C. Ragland 614-645-8580

 

Tavares addresses National League of Cities’

NBC-LEO Annual Conference

 

Columbus City Councilwoman Charleta B. Tavares addressed the Annual Conference of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) a constituency group of the National League of Cities (NLC) held at the Historic Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee on August 11-15, 2010.  The topic of Councilwoman Tavares’s presentation was “The Peoples’ Champions: Driving to Success; A road map to identifying drivers to navigate state and national policy initiatives to arrive at local solution destinations” .

 

Tavares’ presentation focused on identifying champions at the local, state and national levels who would cross-pollinate legislative bodies on behalf of local governments and share successful legislative initiatives and challenges to local government. “We must use who we have at every level of government who has served in local elective office to get what we need for our communities, said Tavares.  This is not only necessary but imperative if we are going to address the imbalance of federal and state policies negatively impacting local governments and our constituents.”

 

Councilwoman Tavares, who is currently the President Elect of NBC-LEO, led a delegation of leaders from the City of Columbus to address the needs of residents at the Annual Conference entitled, “Strong Leadership During Challenging Times.”  “I have been privileged to serve my constituents and the Columbus community through my work with the National League of Cities and the NBC-LEO boards. This conference, which brings together local elected officials from around the country, seeks to find solutions to the most pressing issues that face our cities during one of the most difficult times in our country’s history.  We use this venue annually to highlight successful local economic development models, develop our federal policy agenda and strengthen our relationships with local elected officials throughout the country to work on behalf of our residents and our cities”, concluded Tavares.

 

The National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) was created in 1970 to represent the interests of African American elected officials and their constituents within the NLC. NBC-LEO’s objectives include increasing African American participation on the NLC's steering and policy committees to ensure that policy and program recommendations reflect African American concerns and benefit their communities.

 

For more information go to: www.nlc.org

-30-

 

For additional information on Councilwoman Tavares’ presentation please contact James Ragland at (614)645-8580 or

 

 

 

 

CYP rail page at Regional Chamber website is live

Hi all,

 

Just wanted to give you a head's up that the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber's page for the Cleveland - Youngstown - Pittsburgh (CYP) TechBelt Rail has gone live. Note that the next meeting date/time/location (noon Sept. 9 at the chamber's Youngstown's office) is also posted.

 

Check it out at:

 

http://regionalchamber.com/CommunitySupport/AdvocacyAndInfluence/AllAboardOhio.aspx

 

Thanks to the regional chamber for its continuing support of CYP TechBelt Rail!

 

Also, find the CYP Facebook page:

 

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001092791841

 

KJP

 

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

Parking ills hold back Downtown, panel says

Do Dispatch writers or this "panel" travel to other parts of the U.S. or the world? Do they not know that you can't have a world-class city without a world-class public transit system?? More parking structures downtown means more traffic. More traffic makes for a less comfortable pedestrian environment. Fewer pedestrians means less density. Less density means less downtown vibrancy. Back to square one. Are we still sure that transit is only trendy?? Boggles the mind....


Parking ills hold back Downtown, panel says
Friday, August 13, 2010  02:50 AM
By Marla Matzer Rose

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Mass transit might be in vogue, but parking holds the key to Downtown revitalization, a panel of Columbus business and civic leaders says.

A lack of cheap, available parking continues to put Downtown at a disadvantage to attracting and keeping employers, who tend to gravitate to the suburbs, they said.

Addressing the future of Columbus at a Wednesday event sponsored by the Athletic Club of Columbus, one of the four panelists, developer Frank Kass, said the history of Downtown's development led to the parking problem.

READ MORE AT:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/08/13/parking-ills-hold-back-downtown-panel-says.html?sid=101

 

 

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

Pennsylvania slashes transportation funding

Pennsylvania slashes transportation funding
Thursday, August 12, 2010 

Pennsylvania's Transportation Commission has approved a 24% cut in planned improvements to highways, rail freight, bridges, and aviation over the next 12 years.

This means that starting Oct. 1, the state plans to spend $51.6 billion to improve transportation infrastructure, down from $67.9 billion anticipated in 2009. The cut amounts to $16.3 billion.
 
READ MORE AT:
http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-news/pennsylvania-slashes-transportation-funding.html

 

 

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

Rail lessons from other states: Missouri

Yet another passenger rail success story, this time from a Midwest state that has less population than Ohio's 3C Corridor but consistently provides operating support for passenger rail and now is tapping federal funds to speed up its trains.......

http://www.modot.gov/newsandinfo/District0News.shtml?action=displaySSI&newsId=58720

MoDOT News Release
For more information, contact Kristi Jamison, 573-526-2482 or Rod Massman at 573-751-7476.

August 11, 2010
Growth of Amtrak Missouri River Runner is on the Fast Track

JEFFERSON CITY - Ridership for Amtrak Missouri River Runner trains grew by 25.7 percent for the month of July over the same period last year.  The 22,039 customers riding in July came close to setting a record high for the passenger rail service between St. Louis and Kansas City, since numbers had not reached that level in one month since July 2001.

"The significant improvement of the Missouri River Runner's on-time performance in the last year is making it a more reliable mode of travel," said Rod Massman, Missouri Department of Transportation rail administrator.  "Growing dependability and better efforts to communicate the benefits of riding the train are drawing more customers to the service." 

Missouri River Runner trains reported an 88 percent on-time performance rate in the month of June, but achieved an even better 92 percent on-time performance for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010.   The Missouri service has also been noted for its overall customer satisfaction, receiving a 91 percent satisfaction rate in June and ranking third best of all Amtrak routes for the year.

Amtrak trains have been supported by the state financially since 1979.  An increase in riders means an increase in ticket revenues, which helps reduce the amount of state financial support.  In addition, Missouri has received $31 million for high-speed rail projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act earlier this year and applied for six more projects on Aug. 6.  These funds will be used on additional capacity-building projects that will build an even better and more reliable passenger train service across Missouri.

Amtrak service connecting St. Louis and Chicago was also up, by 12 percent.  Nationwide, state supported or short distance corridors saw nearly a 7 percent increase in riders.

###

 

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