» 2010 Annual Meeting Registration Form

2010 ESPA Annual Meeting Registration Form (PDF) Revised to 1-18-10

Or Use The Print Function Of Your Web Browser To Print The Following Form

30th Annual ESPA Meeting

Empire State Passengers Association
and
National Association of Railroad Passengers

Saturday, March 13, 2009 11:00am – 4:00pm

Holiday Inn Downtown 100 Nott Terrace Schenectady, NY
Four Blocks from the Amtrak Station - Free Parking

Full Program Registration Includes Meeting, Lunch and Refreshment Breaks…

Full Early Bird Discount Registration - $33.00 Per Person
(Registrations Must Be Post Marked By February 20th)

Full Late Registration - $38.00 Per Person
(ALL Registrations Post Marked After February 20th)

Meeting ONLY (No Lunch Or Breaks) Registration - $20.00 Per Person

Please complete and return this stub with your check for the appropriate registration fee, to be
received NO later than March 5, 2010. (NO cancellations after this date).

Please Note: Written confirmation of your meeting registration having being received is NOT provided
unless specifically requested (ie. tickets are not mailed to you).

Meeting registration begins at 10:00am.

Make checks payable to ‘ESPA’ and mail to:
Bruce B. Becker, President
ESPA
8175 Old Post Road East
East Amherst, NY 14051

Name(s): ________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: __________________________________________

Telephone No: ___________________________________________

E-Mail: _________________________________________________

_____ I will be arriving in Schenectady on: Tr. # 280 ____ Tr. #63 _____
(Transportation and Walking Maps will be provided)

» Amtrak Board Continues Joe Boardman As President

The Amtrak Board of Directors has extended the contract of interim President/CEO Joseph Boardman for an indefinite period.

The Amtrak Board of Directors currently has several open seats. The White House has nominated two potential new board members, but they have yet to be confirmed. Reportedly, the Board decided to postpone any action on naming a permanent president until more seats are filled.

Boardman had signed on as Amtrak’s interim leader in late November 2008 to succeed Alex Kummant, who resigned. Prior to joining the railroad, Boardman was federal railroad administrator, a post he held since May 2005.

He has 34 years of transportation industry experience, including an eight-year stint as commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation. During his FRA administrator tenure, Boardman was the U.S. Department of Transportation designee on Amtrak’s board, where he currently sits as a voting member.

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» 2009 State Fair Service Information

• 2009 State Fair Service Schedule and Promotion Information (PDF)

• Link To Amtrak’s Special Promotion Page On The Fair Service

» June 2009 NYS Stats

June 2009 NYS Stats

» ARRA Pre-App Details

NYS Pre-Application Project Detail (PDF)

» May 2009 NYS Stats

May 2009 NYS Stats

» NYSDOT Appoints NEW High Speed Rail Program Manager

NYSDOT Acting Commissioner Stan Gee announced on June 23rd that Ms. Ann Purdue will be joining the State’s Department of Transportation, as the first High Speed Rail Program Manager, effective July 6, 2009,

Ms. Purdue has been serving as a Senior Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia where she was responsible for the negotiation and development of transportation agreements for the construction, financing, operation and management of major infrastructure projects. She has a depth of experience in rail matters, having served as both in-house and outside counsel to CSX Transportation. She also brings a wealth of experience in the areas of railroad capital improvements, operating agreement, grants and regulation, as well as other private and public sector experience in finance, real estate and commercial transactions.

In the announcement Acting Commissioner Gee said “We are very fortunate to have someone with Ms. Purdue’s talents to lead our ongoing efforts to ensure that passenger rail and high-speed rail transportation will be a safe, energy efficient, competitively priced, economic generator for New York.”

Ms. Purdue and the High Speed Rail Program team will be part of the Department’s Policy and Planning Division’s Office of Integrated Modal Services under the leadership of Don Hannon.

ESPA is very pleased by this news and congratulates the Governor and Department on attracting such a highly-qualified individual to help the lead the impending higher-speed initiatives across the state.

» Upgraded Coaches NOW On Adirondack...

Amtrak has significantly upgraded passenger comfort on the New York City to Montreal Adirondack with the recent additional of two long-distance style Amfleet II coaches on each train.

These cars feature much larger windows (perfect for viewing the beautiful scenery along the train’s route); leg and foot rests at every seat and vastly larger space between seats than on regular Amtrak corridor coaches.

These cars are reserved exclusively for passengers crossing the international border while traveling to and from Montreal.

In addition the Adirondack features a full service cafe car, with plenty of tables for use by all for eating, playing games or simply meeting new friends.

The train also carries two Amfleet I coaches for passengers traveling shorter distances, with an additional third Amfleet I coach dedicated to Hudson Valley travelers.

ESPA applauds Amtrak’s efforts to improve the passenger experience on this train which is very popular with tourists and international visitors.

» Former D&H Station at Rouses Point, NY

Photo Courtesy of

Visit the Existing Railroad Stations in New York State Website
for information and photos of 100’s of present and former railroad stations across the state…

Congressman John McHugh has obtained $95,000 in federal funds to help jump-start efforts to restore the former Delaware and Hudson station in this North Country border village, served by Amtrak’s Adirondack.

Currently Amtrak stops in front of a dilapidated former US Immigration building at the site and officially their website states that the station stop offers only a platform but no shelter, though in reality a room in the this building is usually open for passengers use.

The restoration effort now underway at the former station is estimated to ultimately cost $600,000 and additional funding sources are being sought by the Village and local Chamber of Commerce. The station will eventually become a regional history museum and hopefully will once again accommodate Amtrak passengers when the work is completed.

Bruce B. Becker

» West of Albany Ridership Remains Strong...

June 16, 2009

Riderhsip on the Empire Corridor trains (including the Maple Leaf) that run west of Albany across Upstate NY remains very strong, with April 2009 passengers up 13.6% over April 2008.

Year-to-date for Amtrak’s FY09 budget year (October 2008 through April 2009), west of Albany ridership is up 4.6% over the prior year’s same period.

These gains are inspite of the overall very poor economic conditions and the significantly lower price of gasoline compared to last year. Vastly improved On-Time Performance for these trains is helping to draw riders to the rails.

Other New York State ridership stats are:

•The Ethan Allen Express, running between New York and Rutland, VT, was up 7.8% in April and 3.5% for the YTD period.

•The Adirondack, running between New York and Montreal, was up 8.0% in April, but has experienced an 6.0% drop for the YTD period.

•The Lake Shore Limited, running between New York/Boston and Chicago was up 1.6% in April and down a slight 0.1% for the YTD period.

•Trains running in the Hudson Valley between Albany and New York City, were down 4.6% in April and are down 9.4% overall for the seven month FY09 period. As these trains primarily attract weekday business travelers and government workers, they have been particularly hard-hit but the general business turndown in recent months.

» Empire Corridor OTP Surges...

June 16, 2009

In a very positive improvement, on-time performance for Empire Corridor trains has soared in recent months, positively impacted by both substantially lower freight volumes and seemingly much improved handling by the freight carriers.

OTP for all Empire Corridor trains reached 88.4% in May 2009. In February Empire Corridor OTP was 82.2%, up 12.0% from the prior year; in March it hit 90.1%, up 20.3% and for April, OTP was 89.0%, up 19.6% from April 2008. (Empire Corridor trains include all 200 series trains running in the Hudson Valley and west to Niagara Falls)

Other May 2009 New York State OTP results are:

•Lake Shore Limited service between New York/Boston and Chicago: 76.5% OTP

•Maple Leaf service between New York and Toronto: 71.0% OTP

•Adirondack service betrween New York and Montreal: 52.3% OTP

•Ethan Allen Express service between New York and Rutland, VT: 50.0% OTP