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Railroad Passengers Present Golden Spike Award to Rep. Louise Slaughter
Release #11-08-May 5, 2011

Contact: Sean Jeans-Gail, 202-320-2723

Washington, DC-The National Association of Railroad Passengers presented its Golden Spike Award to Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) May 3 at the Association's annual Capitol Hill reception. Rep. Slaughter is a long-time supporter of passenger trains in general and Amtrak in particular.

NARP President and CEO Ross B. Capon said, "Through her leadership over many years, and this year in founding the Bi-cameral High Speed and Intercity Rail Caucus, Congresswoman Slaughter has shown the steadfast political courage it will take to create a modern passenger rail system, bringing the many benefits of trains to Americans across the nation." The Caucus, which she co-chairs, is made up of Senate and House high-speed rail advocates from across the country.

In her home state of New York, Slaughter has worked tirelessly to bring high-speed rail to the Empire Corridor, with special emphasis on the Buffalo-Albany segment. She understands that by connecting Upstate New York to the Northeast Corridor and to Canada, the Empire State will take advantage of one of the largest trade corridors in the world. She envisions high-speed rail to be the next Erie Canal for Upstate New York and has organized her colleagues into the Upstate Congressional Caucus to advocate in one voice for increased funding.

The Association presents Golden Spike Awards to honor individuals, usually public officials, for their support for a fully developed train network and leadership in promoting rail development. Past winners are listed at http://www.narprail.org/spike

About the National Association of Railroad Passengers

NARP is the largest citizen-based organization advocating for train and rail transit passengers. We have worked since 1967 to expand the quality and quantity of passenger train service in the U.S. Our mission is to work towards a modern, customer-focused national passenger train network that provides a travel choice Americans want. Our work is supported by over 20,000 individual members.

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