Steel Wheels Conference is Coming!


    

Come to Sacramento for the annual joint Steel Wheels Conference in the Stanford Gallery at the California State Railroad Museum from 1 until 4 PM, Saturday September 15th.

Early Bird registration ends August 31! See below for details.A lively and informative discussion will cover long-distance train service as well as the early phases of high-speed rail development in California.

Confirmed Featured Speakers

Brian Rosenwald, Amtrak Chief of Product Management

Matthew Melzer, National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) Southwest Division Leader

Stacey Mortensen, Executive Director, Altamont Commuter Express

Daniel Krause, Executive Director, Californians for High Speed Rail

Steve Cohn, Sacramento City Councilman and a director of the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority.

Meeting Agenda

RailPAC President Paul Dyson, Moderator

Part 1: Guest speakers: Welcome by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson will give a broad-brushed view of the political climate in California. California perspectives help to set the future of long distance passenger service, regional rail, viable high speed rail, and integrated local urban rail planning.

Part 2: Three discussion groups. Participants go to a “table” where each group will be lead by one of the presenters. Members of the discussion group identify their main concerns, talk about the issue with the group and then summarize the results of their group’s concerns and propose action items for rail advocates.

Part 3: Each group returns for a report from each table leader to the entire assembly. RailPAC and NARP prioritize the issues for future action.

About the Speakers

Assemblyman Dickinson’s distinguished public service career includes key roles on the County Board of Supervisors and on the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Board.

Brian Rosenwald earned the admiration of RailPAC during his presentation about Sunset Limited service to the 2009 joint RailPAC/NARP assembly.

Stacey Mortensen sparked the January 2010 RailPAC regional meeting in Sacramento about boosting service frequencies and extended geographic coverage; with her involvement in high speed rail planning and regional rail governance issues.

Councilman Steve Cohn, a long time supporter of commuter and light rail service, moves from the controversial entertainment (basketball) development era to intermodal transportation planning and execution.

A representative of Congresswoman Doris Matsui will share insights about the TIGER grant that enables the start of a new Sacramento intermodal terminal.

Tony Bizjak, reporter for the Sacramento Bee, will be available to discuss local transportation issues with us.

Armin Kick, Siemens Mobility, who also presented at two Steel Wheels conferences, plans to make a few remarks. Two-way interaction between presenters and conferees will make best use of limited time.

Register by August 31, 2012! and receive a five dollar discount from the suggested donations below, which is available in three ways:

1) Send a check payable to RailPAC with a postmark no later than August 31st;

2) Register through PayPal:www.railpac.org>Register Now>select donation level

3) Call (415) 787-2252 to register by phon

All three methods are then available from September 1 through Sept 15th at non-discounted rates. Registration is $30 for RailPAC or NARP members; $40 for non-members.

All payments are donations to the Steel Wheels Conference, hosted by RailPAC and NARP.

Make checks payable to RailPAC and mail to: Rail Passenger Association of California and Nevada, 1017 L Street – PMB 217, Sacramento, CA 95814-3805

At the conclusion of the 2012 Sacramento Annual Conference on Saturday, September 15, 2012 at the California Railroad Museum, in Sacramento, at 4:00 p.m., President Paul Dyson will call to order the annual meeting of the Citizens for Rail California, Inc. The agenda of the meeting is for members to elect members to expired and vacant terms on the corporation’s board of directors. Following the membership meeting, the board of directors will immediately meet to elect corporate officers for 2012-2013.