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The Washington Association of Rail Passengers is a consumer oriented, rail advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the improvement of rail transportation services in the Pacific Northwest. We cooperate with similar rail passenger groups in Oregon, California, and British Columbia, and with the National Association of Railroad Passengers based in Washington, D.C.

We believe that a modern national rail passenger network is an essential element of a truly balanced transportation system in which each mode of transport (highway, rail, ferry, and air) is used to its best advantage. We support continued federal funding for capital improvements to Amtrak, and to enable the operation of a complete national passenger network.

We support continued expansion of intercity passenger rail in the Pacific Northwest and strongly endorse the incremental program being developed and implemented by the Oregon and Washington State Departments of Transportation.

We recognize the need to preserve freight railway lines which provide infrastructure for passenger trains and increasing freight traffic in the next century. We encourage cooperation between WSDOT and the private railroad companies to increase track capacity to avoid interference between freight and passenger operations; to work towards improving grade crossings; to improve cross-state rail links; and to provide modern intermodal facilities, including renovation of King Street Station in Seattle as a priority project.

We believe that current transportation funding priorities are out of balance at all levels of government, with a preference for expanding highway capacity at the expense of other, less costly surface modes. We believe that current policies encourage unnecessary single-occupancy automobile usage. We therefore support alternatives to single-occupancy transportation, including carpools, vanpools, motorcycles, bicycles, and bus transit, as well as local and regional rail transit. We also support non-capital intensive projects, such as transportation demand management, commute trip reduction, congestion pricing, and reduced parking subsidies.

We accept the necessity of an incremental approach toward implementing passenger rail improvements, since it will take a long-term effort to reform transportation priorities. We will form flexible alliances, solely on the basis of agreement on transportation policies, while remaining politically nonpartisan. We will encourage federal, state, and local governmental entities to implement balanced transportation policies, through education and other appropriate forms of dialogue.

We will at all times push forward our views of rail transportation priorities, and we will praise all those who help in achieving these goals.

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Last Update: 01/03/00
Web Author: Warren Y. Yee