Arrive Magazine - May/June, 2007

ABOARD

Welcome Aboard!

The railroad has always held a prominent position in the annals of American history. While cities and towns are no longer built around them, stations large and small continue to pump energy through the heart of towns across the country. Last year, we implemented an aggressive program aimed at improving Acela Express and Northeast Corridor service. Our goal is to improve all parts of the service, from your on-board experience to the infrastructure that supports it.

Station ownership is in the hands of a variety of entities, such as Amtrak, freight railroads, towns and cities, and redevelopment and historical organizations. In fact, Amtrak owns a relatively small percentage of the facilities at the more than 500 destinations we serve.

While stations like Washington’s Union Station are thriving and have helped revitalize surrounding neighborhoods, many others require renovation. Recognizing that stations are economic development engines, localities across the nation are seeking assistance with this endeavor.

Tell us about
your experience
by completing
the survey at
amtraksurvey.com
or by calling
1-866-950-TRIP.

To that end, Amtrak recently launched the Great American Stations Web site (greatamericanstations. com). Serving to link resources, public officials and business communities across the country, the site is designed to encourage revitalization. As America’s intercity passenger railroad, we can lend our expertise to communities that want to learn more about reinvigorating their stations.

Acting as a central point for a range of station-related information, the site provides information and resources associated with station ownership, links to information about the Americans with Disabilities Act, background about potential funding sources for rehabilitation, and upgrades and advice about how to get started on renovations.

On our end, we’re making capital investments this year to some of the stations we own. Along the Northeast Corridor, we’re partnering with U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and the Delaware Department of Transportation on plans

for a complete restoration of the Wilm-
ington station, which celebrates its 100th
anniversary this year. We’re also restoring
the interior of the Baltimore station. At
the BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport rail
station, we’re rebuilding the southbound
platforms and doing work on the eleva-
tors. We’ve completely reconstructed the
platforms at New Carrollton, are partner-
ing with Metro-North to reconfigure one
of the platforms at New Rochelle, and are
improving the condition of the platforms
at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. In addition, we built
large overhead bridges in Kingston and Old Saybrook so
that passengers can safely get to the tracks. While there’s
always more work to be done, we’re striving to bring part-
ners together to improve station conditions.

In most cases, our stations are the gateway to your travel experience. While we endeavor to enhance that experience where we can, we’re also very focused on better serving you aboard our trains. In addition to the feedback we get from our passengers on a regular basis, we’ve recently launched Amtrak Trip Ratings, a passenger survey that will help us improve the service we deliver to you.

I encourage you to tell us about your on-board experience by completing the survey at amtraksurvey.com or by calling 1-866-950-TRIP within three days of travel. Passengers who complete the survey are automatically entered in a monthly sweepstakes to win $500 in free travel.

Whether it’s associated with our stations or on-board service, we’re dedicated to making your experience with Amtrak the best that it can be. Please let our staff know if we can do anything to make your trip with us today more pleasurable, and thank you for choosing Amtrak.