Meredith Richards is chair of the Rail Passengers Association—the country’s largest passenger rail advocacy organization—and president of the Virginia Rail Policy Institute.

Those who follow U.S. passenger rail closely know that Virginia has accomplished a lot in the last several years, and Mrs. Richards has been one of the figures at the center of it all.

John Robert Smith is chairman of Transportation for America. He is a former chair of Amtrak's Board of Directors and served 16 years as mayor of his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi. He first became a passenger rail champion while serving as mayor, when Amtrak proposed cutting service through Meridian, and he has since become a highly respected voice for restoring and revitalizing passenger service around the country.

From SR Director Bill Moyer:

I had a great conversation recently with James Howard Kunstler on his KunstlerCast podcast. Over the decades, I have been fascinated by Kunstler’s work envisioning community resilience, localization of supply chains, and the revitalization of Main Street economies. In our conversation, we discussed how the U.S. rail system could help make that vision a reality by restoring freight and passenger service to places that have been left behind. I hope you will check it out!

If you have ever wondered what happened to our once-great passenger rail system—or how the U.S. became so car-dependent that many Americans today ride trains for the first time when they travel abroad—then this episode is for you.

With the help of our truly brilliant guests, we piece together a story that absolutely must be understood today, as we strive to create a transportation system that works for all of us, without polluting communities and the environment.

Our guests in this episode include three book authors, two board members for the country’s largest passenger rail advocacy group, a railroad industry veteran, and an award-winning policy analyst. We are so grateful to each and every person who took the time to share their voice and expertise with us.

Senator Markey and Representative Deluzio just introduced the All Aboard Act that will lay the tracks to a more sustainable, connected future with expansive, efficient, electrified rail service—all built with union labor.

Solutionary Rail was honored to be a contributor and an endorser of this legislation that will help reconnect America by making rail the status quo for freight and passenger transport.

Last week the Dept of Energy (DOE) released a significant Rail Action Plan. Solutionary Rail was quite involved in its creation, and there's A LOT of our work in this - especially in the full report. 

Preview:

Reconnect America is the new podcast from Solutionary Rail that presents a creative yet common sense vision for U.S. railroads. It weaves together the genius of community and technical experts, workers and policymakers, advocates and scholars. Reconnect America reflects a decade of research, writing, and advocacy aimed at illuminating the ways in which the U.S. rail system can be harnessed to better service public interests and to address 21st century problems.

The "two-fer-one" deal with Berkshire Hathaway that would transform US rail service - AND create a national SuperGrid for renewable energy.

Video of my proposition and their responses are captured here by Yahoo News. The painfully slow pace of my question was due to the crazy-making echo in my monitor.

For rail workers, trackside communities, native tribes and rural areas