(The following story by Neil Thomas appeared on the University of Delaware’s website on February 14.)
NEWARK, Del. — Former Amtrak president David L. Gunn will discuss “The Future of Rail Transportation in America” during the “Building Inter-Metropolitan Rail Corridors” forum to be held by the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration (IPA) on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at John M. Clayton Hall Conference Center on the Laird Campus
The forum will provide scholars, transportation planners, policymakers and advocates an opportunity to discuss and assess future directions and strategies for rail service between America’s cities. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.
Jerome Lewis, director of IPA, will welcome forum participants at 9 a.m. and will be immediately followed by U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper’s keynote presentation, “Rail Policy: A View from Washington.”
During morning sessions, speakers will present an overview of rail corridors as a key element of the transportation infrastructure to achieve greater efficiencies, foster regional development and gain environmental benefits, and will discuss the status of rail corridors in California, the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest.
Jean-Paul Rodrigue of Hofstra University will discuss “Inter-Metropolitan Rail Corridors and Regional Development” at 9:30 a.m., and Thomas Till of the Cascadia Center in the Pacific Northwest, Howard Learner of the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago and Gene Skoropowski of the Capital Corridor Joint Powers Authority of California will discuss “Achievements in and the Future of Rail Corridor Projects” at 10:30 a.m.
During lunch and afternoon sessions, speakers will discuss rail policy research, outline and assess the current policy and advocacy environment for rail corridors in relation to public awareness, citizen and organizational advocacy, state and national legislative support and future policy directions.
During lunch, Martin E. Robins of the Voorhees Transportation Policy Institute will speak on “Universities and Rail Policy Research.”
Allison L.C. de Cerreno, co-director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University, will discuss “Elements of Success for High-Speed Rail Projects in the U.S.” at 1:15 p.m., and James P. RePass, president and chief executive officer of the National Corridors Initiative, will speak on “Amtrak is Only the Symptom” at 2 p.m.
Gunn will speak at 2:45 p.m., followed by an open discussion.
The forum is co-sponsored by IPA and the National Corridors Initiative with support from the Delaware Department of Transportation and the Wilmington Metropolitan Area Planning Council.