Category Archives: News

Che sorpresa ti aspetta nel vivace casinò lazybar: generosi bonus, giri gratuiti e una selezione di giochi colorati renderanno la tua serata fantastica.

Ann Arbor City Council approves resolution of support for passenger rail in Michigan

From Ann Arbor.com

The Ann Arbor City Council went on record Monday night to unanimously support the state of Michigan’s efforts to develop and fund a comprehensive system of high-speed rail and intercity passenger rail services.

Mayor John Hieftje, who sponsored the resolution, said the Michigan Municipal League is asking Ann Arbor and other communities to demonstrate support for the Michigan Department of Transportation’s new application for funding from a $2.5 billion second round of federal high-speed rail grants.

“A tremendous amount of money has been put into high-speed rail,” Hieftje said. “I think up to $4 billion has already been handed out. This next round is $2.5 billion. And as we’ve said before, the improvements that would take place for the high-speed corridor are exactly the same improvements that we need for commuter rail to work.”

Read more:
http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-city-council-approves-resolution-of-support-for-intercity-passenger-rail-programs-in-michi/

Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman’s contract extended through 2013

Amtrak Press Release

WASHINGTON – At the July 29 Amtrak board of directors meeting, the board voted unanimously to extend the contract of current President and CEO Joseph Boardman through 2013. Amtrak board chairman Tom Carper made the following statement:

“I am extremely pleased that the Amtrak board of directors has unanimously agreed to retain President and CEO Joe Boardman through 2013. Since he was tapped for the job in November of 2008, Joe has been a strong and visible leader dedicated to providing Amtrak the vision and stability needed to guide the railroad into this new era of passenger rail.

“Joe’s focus on a safer, greener and healthier Amtrak will enhance safety, improve the reliability of our services, reduce trip times and increase speeds, yield targeted and effective infrastructure investments, and ensure the delivery of quality customer service. And as we near the end of the fiscal year, it appears Amtrak will rival our all-time high ridership and ticket revenue record.

“Joe is also strengthening our relationships with state, commuter and other partners to add frequencies to current routes and develop service in new markets. In addition, he is setting the stage for Amtrak to be a competitive force as we expand our role in new markets as America’s only high-speed rail operator.

“He is an active part of the Amtrak family and is committed to building and strengthening relationships, from states to labor organizations.

“On behalf of the entire board, I thank Joe for his commitment and service to Amtrak and look forward to working with him in the coming years.”

# # #

Source: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1249212839294&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-disposition&blobheadervalue1=attachment;filename=Amtrak_ATK-10-104_Amtrak_Statement_Boardman_Contract_Extension_(07-30-10).pdf

N. Michigan Looks to Expand Public Rail System

From Channel 9&10 News in Northern Michigan

Roughly 80 people gathered in Cadillac to ride a passenger train into Traverse City.

Those people included state representatives, local policy, business and community leaders.

This group, along with the public, is looking into Michigan’s freight and passenger rail system and the possibility of expanding it.

Many think a public rail system would not only be good for the region, but for the entire state.

“Transportation drives development, it’s not the other way around,” said Kimberly Pontius, Executive Vice President of the Traverse Area Association of Realtors. “If we hope to see this region grow in a sophisticated way, I think it’s going to be based on the transportation systems and the accessibility.”

See the video:
http://www.9and10news.com/Category/Story/?id=241850&cID=1

Traverse City residents participate in Michigan By Rail Forum

From The Grand Vision

There was something of a Grand Vision twist to last night’s Michigan By Rail Forum at the Civic Center.

Roughly 130 people attended and they certainly did not sit around listening to a series of experts talk about rail. Instead, everyone broke off into groups around large sized Michigan maps. And with a variety of stickers, they got to point out where their hometowns were and where they felt are special places in the State they would like to travel to. Then with rulers and pencils they drew out where they felt the rail lines should go.

Read more:
http://www.thegrandvision.org/2010/07/23/michigan-by-rail-forum/

Time for Better Railroads in Michigan?

From the Great Lakes Bulletin News Service

 The automobile drove Michigan’s economy for most of the last century. That singular emphasis on cars, though, left the Auto State with a transportation system ill equipped for the 21st century.

Crumbling highways and bridges, their stubbornly high maintenance costs, and chronic traffic congestion signal that, when it comes to transportation, Michigan’s model no longer works.

Michigan is hardly alone, but some other states with similar problems have taken a different approach to solving the problem. Many have turned to passenger rail to help them tame traffic, congestion, and clean air problems, spur economic and jobs growth, curb oil dependence, and give people more choices for getting around.

Rail is by no means a new solution in Michigan. In the 1920s, the state had over 10,000 miles of track carrying both freight and passengers; today, it has just 3,600 miles, with passengers riding on just 500 miles of it.

Read more:
http://www.mlui.org/growthmanagement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=17433