Meeting Materials
FRA is engaging with State DOTs, Amtrak, Class I Railroads, metropolitan planning organizations, regional passenger rail authorities, local officials, federally recognized tribes, and the broader stakeholder community as we review options for potential future long distance service, in response to legislative requirements, examining broad needs, challenges, and opportunities.
Four series of regional working group meetings have been held in six regions across the country – Northeast, Southeast, Central, Midwest, Southwest, and Northwest. The first meeting series occurred in January and February 2023, and the second series was held in July 2023. The third meeting series took place in February 2024, and the fourth and final meeting series was in June 2024.
Materials from the working group meetings are available below.
If you have any comments or questions, please submit them via the web form on the comments page or to contactus@fralongdistancerailstudy.org.
Due to the breadth of the study, it may not be possible to respond to all feedback.
Meeting Series 4
June 2024
Presentation
The PowerPoint presentation contains information presented at the fourth round of regional working group meetings for the FRA Long-Distance Service Study. Information includes an overview of the FRA Long-Distance Service Study and a review of feedback received after the last round of regional working group meetings. This presentation includes methods and tools for conceptual service schedule development, network analysis, public benefits analysis, and prioritization of preferred routes. This presentation also includes an assessment of the preferred routes, considerations for ongoing long-distance collaboration and planning, and the final steps for the study. (Updated 7/8/2024. Slides 178 and 180 have been revised to reflect changes to the weighted ratings of preferred routes. Ratings changed because the study team refined the number of new stations providing new access to long-distance passenger rail service in the “level of benefits” prioritization category. This change resulted in several routes experiencing a small increase or decrease in the weighted rating results.)
Northeast Working Group Materials
Northeast Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Northeast working group meeting on June 4, 2024.
Midwest Working Group Materials
Midwest Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Midwest working group meeting on June 5, 2024.
Northwest Working Group Materials
Northwest Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Northwest working group meeting on June 6, 2024.
Southwest Working Group Materials
Southwest Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Southwest working group meeting on June 11, 2024.
Central Working Group Materials
Central Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Central working group meeting on June 12, 2024.
Southeast Working Group Materials
Southeast Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Southeast working group meeting on June 13, 2024.
Meeting Series 3
February 2024
Overview Presentation
PowerPoint presentation contains information presented at the third round of stakeholder working group meetings for the FRA Long-Distance Service Study. Information includes a review of feedback received from previous outreach efforts and identification of the proposed network of preferred new long-distance routes. This presentation includes methodologies for conceptual route development, route evaluation, run times, capital cost estimating, and operations and maintenance cost estimating. This presentation also includes an overview of potential implementation timeframes and opportunities for ongoing collaboration and feedback.
Southeast Working Group Materials
Southeast Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Southeast working group meeting on February 7, 2024.
Southeast Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Central Working Group Materials
Central Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Central working group meeting on February 13, 2024.
Central Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Northwest Working Group Materials
Northwest Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Northwest working group meeting on February 8, 2024.
Northwest Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Southwest Working Group Materials
Southwest Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Southwest working group meeting on February 6, 2024.
Southwest Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Northeast Working Group Materials
Northeast Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Northeast working group meeting on February 15, 2024.
Northeast Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Midwest Working Group Materials
Midwest Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Midwest working group meeting on February 14, 2024.
Midwest Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Meeting Series 2
July 2023
Overview Presentation
PowerPoint presentation containing information pertaining to the Long-Distance study scope, a review of stakeholder and public feedback, development of an enhanced network (which represents a wide range of possibilities for further consideration in developing potential new long-distance routes), comparison of enhanced and baseline networks, and regional working group meeting interactive activities related to potential new route development and opportunities for future stakeholder feedback.
Southeast Working Group Materials
Southeast Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically reviewing regional elements of the enhanced network for the Southeast region. Information includes metropolitan area travel flows, rural accessibility, geographic coverage and stakeholder input pertaining to the Southeast region.
Southeast Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Southeast working group meeting on July 11, 2023.
Southeast Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Central Working Group Materials
Central Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically reviewing regional elements of the enhanced network for the Central region. Information includes metropolitan area travel flows, rural accessibility, geographic coverage and stakeholder input pertaining to the Central region.
Central Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Central working group meeting on July 13, 2023.
Central Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Northwest Working Group Materials
Northwest Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically reviewing regional elements of the enhanced network for the Northwest region. Information includes metropolitan area travel flows, rural accessibility, geographic coverage and stakeholder input pertaining to the Northwest region.
Northwest Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Northwest working group meeting on July 18, 2023.
Northwest Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Southwest Working Group Materials
Southwest Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically reviewing regional elements of the enhanced network for the Southwest region. Information includes metropolitan area travel flows, rural accessibility, geographic coverage and stakeholder input pertaining to the Southwest region.
Southwest Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Southwest working group meeting on July 20, 2023.
Southwest Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Northeast Working Group Materials
Northeast Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically reviewing regional elements of the enhanced network for the Northeast region. Information includes metropolitan area travel flows, rural accessibility, geographic coverage and stakeholder input pertaining to the Northeast region.
Northeast Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Northeast working group meeting on July 25, 2023.
Northeast Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Midwest Working Group Materials
Midwest Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically reviewing regional elements of the enhanced network for the Midwest region. Information includes metropolitan area travel flows, rural accessibility, geographic coverage and stakeholder input pertaining to the Midwest region.
Midwest Meeting Summary
Summary of engagement at the Midwest working group meeting on July 27, 2023.
Midwest Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included two interactive activities focused on creating potential new long-distance routes, as well as an activity requesting stakeholder insights for ongoing feedback opportunities.
Meeting Series 1
February 2023
Overview Presentation
PowerPoint presentation containing national overview information pertaining to Long-Distance service, scope of the FRA Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study, overview of current national Long-Distance network and routes, overview of discontinued routes, baseline and market conditions, potential new market conditions and opportunities, evaluation factors, coordination opportunities with Amtrak and the community, and study next steps.
Southeast Working Group Materials
Southeast Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically for the Southeast region. Information includes current long-distance network and routes and baseline and market conditions pertaining to the Southeast region.
Southeast Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included brainstorming questions for working group members to consider, including previously discontinued routes, frequencies and service changes, potential new routes, and evaluation factors.
Central Working Group Materials
Central Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically for the Central region. Information includes current long-distance network and routes and baseline and market conditions pertaining to the Central region.
Central Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included brainstorming questions for working group members to consider, including previously discontinued routes, frequencies and service changes, potential new routes, and evaluation factors.
Northwest Working Group Materials
Northwest Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically for the Northwest region. Information includes current long-distance network and routes and baseline and market conditions pertaining to the Northwest region.
Northwest Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included brainstorming questions for working group members to consider, including previously discontinued routes, frequencies and service changes, potential new routes, and evaluation factors.
Southwest Working Group Materials
Southwest Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically for the Southwest region. Information includes current long-distance network and routes and baseline and market conditions pertaining to the Southwest region.
Southwest Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included brainstorming questions for working group members to consider, including previously discontinued routes, frequencies and service changes, potential new routes, and evaluation factors.
Northeast Working Group Materials
Northeast Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically for the Northeast region. Information includes current long-distance network and routes and baseline and market conditions pertaining to the Northeast region.
Northeast Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included brainstorming questions for working group members to consider, including previously discontinued routes, frequencies and service changes, potential new routes, and evaluation factors.
Midwest Working Group Materials
Midwest Presentation
PowerPoint of slides specifically for the Midwest region. Information includes current long-distance network and routes and baseline and market conditions pertaining to the Midwest region.
Midwest Mural Exercise
Snapshot of the Mural exercise from the working group meeting. The Mural exercise included brainstorming questions for working group members to consider, including previously discontinued routes, frequencies and service changes, potential new routes, and evaluation factors.