A Statement by Bruce Richardson on his new position as President of URPA
“URPA will continue on its present course of providing viable solutions for issues regarding passenger rail in North America.
“URPA is the house that was built and nurtured by Austin Coates, the late Dr. Adrian Herzog, the late Byron Nordberg, Andy Selden and Randy Schlotthauer, along with others such as Russ Jackson, Jon Messier, and Bill Lindley. I was a relative latecomer when I was invited to be a part of the group in 1988.
“When you go into someone else’s home, you respect what they have chosen to do. I am now in the home of some great people who have had a tremendous impact on passenger rail as we know it.
“Much of what I have written on A-A in the past few weeks follows the URPA philosophies and thinking. URPA is not a radical group, except in the strong belief that passenger rail can be a viable business that doesn’t require large amount of continuous government funding.
“URPA’s principal belief is that for a rail system to work, there must be a strong, viable national system with multiple frequencies on each route that ties together all of the individual components, such as the NEC, Pacific Northwest, Chicago hub, Southern California, and other pieces.
“Without the strong national system, none of the other will work as disjointed regional corridors; the individual pieces are what make the whole system one seamless transportation choice that also meets local needs.
“URPA is an organization of about a dozen people spread throughout the country that develops and proposes solutions to passenger rail opportunities and problems. URPA is self-funding and does not have members who come and go by virtue of whether or not their dues are paid for the year. Our members are included by invitation of the group.
“URPA is making plans to upgrade our web site with more materials and more current writings. That’s the difference between the previous president who does not use a computer or word processor, and the current president who is chained to a computer every morning and not let go until sometime into the night.
“Our views and goals will not change. We will remain committed to more trains to more places with more frequency and better management. We will continue to not be afraid to say ‘what if…’ and think beyond the current structure of Amtrak.
“Best wishes to all,”
[signed]
Bruce Richardson
President, URPA
Jacksonville, Florida
