The Rail Passengers Association (RPA), formerly the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), is the largest

advocacy organization Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

for rail passengers in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Early history

The organization was founded by Anthony Haswell on May 18, 1967, to lobby for the continuation of

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

s in the

Activities

RPA's small paid staff in Washington, D.C., spends most of its time educating members of Congress and their staffs about the value of passenger rail. RPA publishes a

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of int ...

eleven times a year detailing news in the passenger rail world. It often includes stories about related

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

in Congress, Traveler's Advisories, and Travel Tips, with a particular focus on

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

. Members benefit from discounts on

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

Alaska Railroad Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Grand Canyon Railway The Grand Canyon Railway is a heritage railroad which carries passengers between Williams, Arizona, and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The railroad, built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, was completed on September 1 ...

Nevada Northern Railway The Nevada Northern Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Nevada, built primarily to reach a major copper producing area in White Pine County, Nevada. The railway, constructed in 1905–06, extended northward about from Ely to connections ...

, and

Brightline Brightline (reporting mark BLFX) is an inter-city rail route between Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida that runs on track owned by Florida East Coast Railway. Brightline is the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad ...

Organization

The governing body of RPA is the Council of Representatives, consisting of 112 members from fifty states plus the District of Columbia, apportioned by the number of RPA members in each state. Up to an additional ten "At-Large" Council Representatives may hold office at any one time. RPA is divided into ten regional divisions, each headed by a Division Leader, who is also a Council Representative for one of the states included in his/her Division. Council Representatives and Division Leaders report to a liaison on the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors includes one Chair, four Vice Chairs, one Secretary, one Treasurer, and eight Directors, for a total of fifteen members. The immediate past Chair and Treasurer hold non-voting, ex-officio, advisory roles on the Board. The Board sets the agenda for RPA's activities and the hiring of staff. In addition to the elected leadership, the small paid staff in Washington, D.C. includes a President, Vice Presidents for Policy, Operations, and Resource Development, Directors for Policy Research and Customer Advisory Committee Services, two regional Field Coordinators (based in Massachusetts and Alabama), and an Office Manager. Jim Mathews, formerly Executive Editor of the Aviation Week Intelligence Network, has served as RPA President and CEO since August 2014.

References

External links

* {{authority control Amtrak Passenger rail transportation in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Political advocacy groups in the United States Organizations established in 1967 Rail advocacy organizations in the United States