Dear friends of Regional Rail:

The next meeting of theRegional Rail Working Group (RRWG) will be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 6-8pm (meeting will start promptly at 6pm) Conference Room, NYPD DowntownCenter 104 Washington Street (just north of Rector Street), Lower Manhattan.

Also note that at the same location, on Tuesday, June 23, 2009, at 5.45pm-8pm, Auto-Free New York will feature a presentation on "Advancing Rail Freight for a Uniquely Truck-Dependent City". Speakers will be:

Benjamin Miller, Senior Fellow, CUNY Institute for UrbanSystems
John McHugh, Counsel, East of Hudson Rail Freight Task
see www.auto-free.org for details.

At the RRWG meeting discussion will continue on efforts to advance ARC Penn Station First -- a plan for connecting the new Hudson River passenger rail tunnels directly into existing tracks and platforms at Moynihan/Penn Station. This is a central featureof a plan for a truly regional rail system with frequent service, integrated fares and thru-running. A subsequent phase would be to connectPenn Station with Grand Central Terminal, adding many new opportunities for regional transit travel.

Time permitting, there will be progress reports on other RRWG initiatives:

1. regional rail equipment compatibility issues
2. Upper Level Loop Alternative for LIRR East Side Access
3. Rockaway Cut-off - one-seat ride Midtown Manhattan-Aqueduct Racino-JFK Airport and Rockaway Peninsula
4. Lower Manhattan Access
5. Light Rail in the Lincoln Tunnel
6. Regional Rail Freight and Intercity rail passenger issues

The purpose of the working group is to develop and advance plansfor converting the region's commuter rail lines into a regional rail system, with fast, frequent service and affordable, integrated fares. The group also considers changes to rapid transit and light rail transit that are
"regional" in scale.

Regional Rail issues are discussed on our website: www.rrwg.org

The WorkingGroup includes:

Empire State Passengers Association
NJ Association ofRailroad Passengers
Lackawanna Coalition
Five Towns Rural Transit,Inc.
Committee for Better Transit
Institute for Rational Urban Mobility
Sane Aviation for Everyone, Inc. (SAFE) (our newest participant)

Plan to attend the next meeting on Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 6-8pm

Also plan to attend the Auto-Free New York meeting on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 6-8pm.

geo

George Haikalis
Chair, Regional Rail Working Group
One Washington Square Village, Suite 5D
New York, NY 10012 phone: 212-475-3394

geo@irum.org     www.irum.org    www.auto-free.org      
www.vision42.org     www.rrwg.org