Passenger Rail Forum

The Toledo Amtrak station is the busiest passenger rail station in Ohio with more than 85,000 passengers in 2013. There is a strong regional interest in train travel in the general public as can be seen in the large crowds that attend National Train Day Toledo in May. The Northwest Ohio Passenger Rail Association (NOPRA) and TMACOG presented a Passenger Rail Forum for everyone interested in train transportation Monday, November 17.

The keynote speaker for this year’s event was David King, general manager of Triangle Transit in the Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill region of North Carolina. King is a former leader of the North Carolina Department of Transportation rail division where he was instrumental in extending passenger rail in the state. He is past chair of Reconnecting America, an organization working to redefine national policies on intercity travel for a convenient, secure, financially viable, and sustainable network. 

The forum also included a panel discussion with public transit experts:

·         Rob Greenlese, Commissioner, Ohio Rail Development Commission

·         Gabriel Hall, President, US RAIL Corporation

·         Royce Maniko, AICP, Manager of Community Planning–Michigan, The Mannik & Smith Group

Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments | www.tmacog.org