AASHTO Journal - AASHTO’s Rail Council Meeting Heads to New Orleans

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials will hold the annual meeting of its Council on Rail Transportation October 19-22 in New Orleans; a meeting that will feature an optional tour of Amtrak’s New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, coach and engine yard, and car wash facility, plus sessions on rail safety and environmental streamlining initiatives for rail projects. To register for this meeting, click here.

[Above image by AASHTO]

AASHTO’s Council on Rail Transportation – known as “CORT” – provides a forum to discuss, recommend, and coordinate with rail stakeholders on freight and passenger rail legislation, regulation, and other industry issues.

The CORT annual meeting will feature several spotlight sessions, keynotes, plenary panels, and workshops on key state and federal rail transportation issues.

The first day of the meeting will feature an optional three-hour tour of Amtrak’s New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal; completed in 1954, it is the last such “Union Station” designated rail facility built in the United States. The terminal is the major southern terminus hub for Amtrak, serving the City of New Orleans, Crescent, Sunset Limited, and the twice-daily Mardi Gras Service.

David Fink, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, will give the meeting’s keynote speech on October 20, followed by sessions on rail safety, state department of transportation and railroad company collaboration, the federal grant application process, and others.

Glen Ledet, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, will open the meeting’s second day, which includes sessions on rail technology and the U.S. rail supply chain.

The meeting concludes on October 22 with the quarterly meeting of the State-Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Committee and another optional tour, hosted by the AASHTO Committee on Water Transportation, of the Port of New Orleans.

To register for this meeting, click here.