FOR RELEASE: AUGUST 20, 2016
All Aboard St. Marys salutes Amtrak and our lucky American colleagues
ST. MARYS, ONTARIO – All Aboard St. Marys is sending hearty congratulations to its friends at Amtrak and within the U.S. rail advocacy community on the appointment of Charles “Wick” Moorman as the national passenger carrier’s new president.
“We’re green with envy,” says Chris West of All Aboard St. Marys. “Amtrak has just signed up the railway equivalent of Babe Ruth. To have a man of Mr. Moorman’s calibre running the national rail passenger system at a time when it has moved beyond survival to growth is something we can only dream of in Canada.”
Mr. Moorman is the former CEO and chairman of Norfolk Southern (NS), one of North America’s largest and most successful freight railways. Under his stewardship, NS was also one the most cooperative freight railways in accommodating the passenger trains of Amtrak and numerous commuter agencies. His background and his commitment to meeting both business and community needs is well explained in these articles regarding his appointment to the Amtrak presidency, which he is taking at $1.00 per year with a $500,000 annual performance bonus.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/amtrak-names-new-ceo-1471618771
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us- business/amtrak-taps-former-freight-railway-head-to-be-new-ceo/article31470310/
http://media.amtrak.com/2016/08/amtrak-names-industry-veteran-wick-moorman-president- and-chief-executive-officer/
Says West, “We have selfish reasons for applauding Mr. Moorman’s appointment. We are convinced he will bring even more improvements to the Amtrak routes that now serve Canada thanks to American funding. These include the Vancouver-Seattle Cascades and the Montreal- Albany-New York Adirondack. Soon to be implemented is an extension of Amtrak’s New York-St. Albans Vermonter to Montreal. We’re hoping there will also be an expansion of the Toronto- New York Maple Leaf service, which is jointly operated with VIA and leaves much to be desired on this side of the border in terms of frequency and ticket cost.”
It pleases All Aboard St. Marys to note that Mr. Moorman will be able to draw on the proven experience of Amtrak’s Canadian-born chief mechanical officer, Mario Bergeron, who has played a large role in the publicly-owned railway’s fleet renewal program since he made the move to Amtrak from the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Says West, “We especially want to congratulate our friends at the National Corridors Initiative (NCI: http://www.nationalcorridors.org/), who have been so generous in carrying our message to American rail advocates through their weekly online newsletter, Destination: Freedom. Our NCI friends and other advocates have worked long and hard lobbying politicians and educating the public and the media about the multiple benefits of investing in publicly-owned and -operated passenger trains. Mr. Moorman’s appointment is part of the payoff for their diligent efforts over so many years.”
In the near future, All Aboard St. Marys will be reaching out to Mr. Moorman and his highly- qualified Amtrak team to discuss cross-border rail passenger improvements that can be launched by the publicly-owned corporation that proudly calls itself “America’s Railroad.”
Of particular interest would be a discussion about directly connecting VIA’s Toronto-London- Windsor trains with the growing Detroit-Chicago Wolverine Corridor, which is now undergoing massive improvement through joint funding by Amtrak and the State of Michigan. It will soon offer multiple roundtrips daily at speeds of up to 176 km/hour with all-new bi-level trains.
“It’s a new day for the American passenger train and American rail passengers,” says West. “Canadians should be so lucky.”
For more information, please contact:
Chris West
All Aboard St. Marys [email protected] www.savevia.ca
Tel: 519 284 3310
Fax: 519 284 3160
Sans frais/toll free 1-866-8632 ext 238
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BOX 1197 449 QUEEN STREET WEST ST. MARYS, ONTARIO N4X 1B7 TELEPHONE (519) 284-3310 FACSIMILE (519) 284-3160