Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to Keynote High-speed Rail Workshop, Sunday, January 13, TRB Conference, Washington DC

FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo, other transportation leaders also will present.

SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will keynote "Economic and Social Impacts of High-Speed Rail Systems," a day-long workshop on the future of high-speed and intercity passenger rail. The event is Sunday, January 13, at the Transportation Research Board's (TRB) annual meeting in Washington, DC. The session opens at 9:00 a.m. with a presentation by Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo. He will introduce Secretary LaHood for the keynote address.

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TRB's Intercity Passenger Rail Committee and the Mineta National Transit Research Consortium (MNTRC) are sponsoring the workshop, which will include six panel sessions featuring the world's top experts on high-speed and intercity passenger rail (HSIPR) systems.

The program will cover the current status of high-speed and intercity rail nationally and internationally; the variety of possible public and private funding sources; unique challenges and opportunities; design and operational integration; a discussion of the benefits; and the status of international programs. The goal is to focus attention on the evolving national network of HSIPR corridors, which include a variety of performance objectives, such as passenger trains traveling more than 200 miles per hour.

Speakers and moderators include Federal Railroad Administration Deputy Administrator Karen Hedlund; former Deputy Secretary of Transportation Mort Downey; TRB Intercity Passenger Rail Committee Chair David Simpson; APTA CEO Michael Melaniphy; MTI Executive Director Rod Diridon, Sr.; California High-Speed Rail Authority Board Chair Dan Richard and its CEO Jeff Morales; Capitol Corridor JPA Managing Director David Kutrosky; UIC Director General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux; Midwest HSR Association Chair Rick Harnish; Secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation Paula Hammond; Brazilian Enterprise for Planning and Logistics Director Hélio Mauro França; Simon Fraser University's Urban Studies Program Director Anthony Perl; and Spain's Fundación Caminos de Hierro Board Chair Eduardo Romo.

Also speaking will be former Council of Minority Transportation Officials Chair Paul Toliver; Mineta National Transportation Security Center Director Brian Michael Jenkins; Texas Central Railway Company President Robert Eckels; Infrastructure Management Group President Sasha Page; MTI Education Director Peter Haas, PhD; APTA High-Speed and Inter-City Rail Committee Secretary Peter Gertler; AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Ed Wytkind; Amtrak's Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Investment Development VP Stephen Gardner; the Skancke Company's President and CEO Tom Skancke; SNCF International Projects Transportation Planning Director Olivier Picq; Siemens High-Speed Rail Development Director Armin Kick; RATP America Senior Business Development Advisor Stan Feinsod; Amtrak NEC Infrastructure and Investment Development Vice-President Drew Galloway; Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority Executive Director Patricia Quinn; and Charles Quandel Associates President Charlie Quandel.

Of note is that three of the speakers were recently honored by the US High Speed Rail Association. Rod Diridon, recently elected chair of the Association, was given its Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to bringing high-speed rail to the US. CHSRA Board Chair Dan Richard was presented the Heroes of High Speed Rail Award for his major contributions bringing high-speed rail to America. Anthony Perl was presented the Transport Revolution Award as an advocate for sweeping change in American transportation.

Those wishing to attend the high-speed rail workshop who are not otherwise registered for the TRB Annual Meeting may do so upon payment of the "one day" TRB meeting registration fee. Registration details are available at www.trb.org/AnnualMeeting2013/AM2013Registration.aspx

ABOUT THE MINETA NATIONAL TRANSIT RESEARCH CONSORTIUM
The Mineta National Transit Research Consortium (MNTRC) conducts research, education, and information and technology transfer, focusing on transportation policy, technology, and management issues, especially as they relate to transit. MNTRC was established in 2011 as part of SAFETEA-LU legislation authorized by Congress. Six of the Consortium's nine university transportation centers were originally authorized under ISTEA in 1991, TEA-21 in 1998, and/or SAFETEA-LU in 2006. The MNTRC has been funded by Congress through the US Department of Transportation's (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), by individual state departments of transportation, and by other public and private grants and donations. The nine Consortium universities include Bowling Green, Detroit Mercy, Grand

Valley, Howard University, Penn State, Rutgers, San Jose State, University of Nevada Las Vegas, and University of Toledo. For information, go to transweb.sjsu.edu/mntrc.  

ABOUT THE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. TRB is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council, a private, nonprofit institution that is the principal operating agency of the National Academies in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The National Research Council is jointly administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. TRB's varied activities annually engage more than 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest by participating on TRB committees, panels, and task forces. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. TRB is headquartered in Washington, DC. Visit trb.org.  

Contact: Donna Maurillo
MTI Communications Director
831-234-4009
donna.maurillo (at) sjsu.edu

SOURCE Mineta Transportation Institute