Dear friends of Regional Rail: The next meeting of the Regional Rail Working Group (RRWG) will be held on Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 6-8pm (meeting will start promptly at 6pm) Conference Room, NYPD Downtown Center 104 Washington Street (just north of Rector Street), Lower Manhattan. Discussion will focus on the following issue: "Options for Connecting Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal" Progress Reports on RRWG initiatives: 1. regional rail equipment compatibility issues 2. Thru-running at Penn Station 3. Hoboken Routing for New Hudson River Tunnels 4. Upper Level Loop Alternative for LIRR East Side Access 5. Rockaway Cut-off - one-seat ride Midtown Manhattan-Aqueduct Racino-JFK Airport and Rockaway Peninsula 6. Lower Manhattan Access 7. Light Rail in the Lincoln Tunnel 8. Regional Rail Freight and Intercity rail passenger issues The purpose of the working group is to develop and advance plans for 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 Working Group includes: Empire State Passengers Association NJ Association of Railroad 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 December 17, 2008, 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