Austin Coates, Chairman of United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc. is leaving Jacksonville, Florida after 42 years, and returning to his family home in Helena, Arkansas.

Helena, on the Mississippi River which forms that state boundary line between Arkansas and Mississippi, is about an hour due south of Memphis.

Mr. Coates, who will turn 70 later this year, is returning to Helena to help with the care of his 98 year old mother and older sister. He will be returning to the family home which his late father built in 1921.

Mr. Coates was the founder of URPA in the early 1980s. He became disillusioned with Amtrak, and sought a way to improve train service in the United States. After a stint as a member of NARP, he structured URPA as a think tank instead of a member-based organization.

Soon after URPA’s formation, Mr. Coates joined forces with the late Byron Nordberg and the late Adrian Herzog and their California base of operations. Also soon joining was Randy Schlotthauer of Fullerton, California, and Andrew Selden of Minneapolis. Together, this group made astounding progress in achieving URPA’s agenda for an improved national passenger rail system.

Mr. Coates served as the group’s president until early in 2001, when he voluntarily chose to semi-retire from the day to day activities of the organization. It was at that point that Bruce Richardson, who had been a part of URPA since 1987, succeeded Mr. Coates as the organization’s president.

Mr. Coates accomplished extraordinary things during his tenure as president of URPA. After a colorful career in several industries, including radio and insurance, and after a lengthy and adventurous tenure as a general aviation corporate pilot, Mr. Coates opened his own automobile mechanic business in the 1970s, providing exclusive service to many highly notable names in Jacksonville. What many members of Congress and the United States Senate did not know was that after Mr. Coates, in suit and tie, left their Washington offices or Washington receptions where they met, Mr. Coates returned to Jacksonville and personally supervised the servicing of automobiles. It was not unusual for Mr. Coates to have a wrench in his back pocket while talking on the telephone with a DOT under secretary.

After his return to Arkansas, Mr. Coates will continue in his role of  Chairman of URPA. He will also open a consulting practice in Arkansas, specializing in what he does best, communicating with elected officials on behalf of clients.

[address and telephone removed -- Ed.]

Austin Coates is someone who has made a tremendous difference in the world of passenger rail travel in this country during the past two decades. He has spent countless hours and days of his own time working on behalf of rail advocates everywhere, and has financed all of his travels and multitude of expenses out of his own pocket.

Even though he is leaving Florida and moving to Arkansas, we are fortunate to keep the wisdom and leadership of Mr. Coates within our reach.

Mr. Coates is very pleased that his new home will put him within an afternoon’s drive of the home of his granddaughter, who was born in 2000.

Bruce Richardson
President, United Rail Passenger Alliance
Jacksonville, Florida

Source: United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

The board of United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc. has selected a new slate of officers for the nationally known think tank.

Austin M. Coates of Jacksonville, Florida, previously president of the organization, has taken the title of Chairman.

J. Bruce Richardson, also of Jacksonville, has been named president.

Andrew C. Selden of Minneapolis remains vice president of law and policy.

Randy Schlotthauer of Fullerton, California also retains his title as vice president of marketing and government relations.

Russ Jackson of the San Joaquin Valley in California; Jon Messier of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Dr. Bill Hamilton of Austin, Texas; and William Lindley of Scottsdale, Arizona remain vice presidents of their respective areas.

Mr. Coates, who celebrates his 69th birthday this month, has expressed a desire to semi-retire and relinquish some of the day-to-day duties of the organization. Highly respected in Washington, Mr. Coates will still be at the forefront of planning and implementing Washington strategies and efforts. However, he is planning to curtail much of his traveling.

Mr. Coates founded URPA in 1984, and quickly joined forces with Mr. Selden, Mr. Schlotthauer, and the late Dr. Adrian Herzog and the late Byron Nordberg. Together, the five formed a powerful force in passenger railroad politics that has been felt throughout the nation.

Mr. Richardson became a part of URPA in 1988, and has been active in its public relations and public policy issues. He is a former consultant to Amtrak, and heads his own consulting, marketing, and public relations firm in Jacksonville. Many of his clients are in the travel and transportation fields. In 1994, Mr. Richardson chaired a meeting in the White House for the purpose of discussing the privatization of Amtrak. Prior to that, he led a team of consultants working in Canada on a study of VIA Rail Canada to determine if that railroad could be privatized and operate profitably.

Mr. Selden is a nationally known attorney in the Briggs & Morgan law firm in Minneapolis. His specialty is franchise law. Mr. Selden is the creator of the Selden Plan, currently the only plan developed outside of Amtrak that defines the role of passenger rail beyond as it stands today. The Selden Plan is currently under discussion in Congress and elsewhere in Washington. Mr. Selden participated as a panelist in the Transportation Research Board’s 80th annual meeting in Washington in January, and testified before the Surface Transportation Board early in April regarding major rail consolidation procedures. A prolific writer, Mr. Selden has authored numerous rail related articles and white papers, and was dubbed the Dean of Amtrak Critics by Trains Magazine.

Mr. Schlotthauer is the owner of Slotsy Tours and Travel in Fullerton, CA., and is a former private car owner. His agency is a constant Amtrak Golden Spike agency, and has also operated packaged tour programs for Amtrak and the Walt Disney Company. In 1995, in conjunction with the late Dr. Adrian Herzog, he was the author of the San Diegan marketing plan commissioned by Amtrak that foretold the development of what today is known as the Surfliners. Mr. Schlotthauer has been involved through the years with a number of projects with Amtrak. For 17 years, Mr. Schlotthauer taught students learning how to use computer reservation systems at Fullerton College.

Mr. Jackson is editor and publisher of the Western Rail Passenger Review, and is a retired college professor. Mr. Jackson’s publication is one of the fastest growing publications regarding rail issues in the country.

Mr. Lindley is URPA’s web master. He created and maintains the organization’s web site and contributes to the organizations research project. Mr. Lindley owns his own web design firm, and is also President of the Arizona Association of Rail Passengers.

All of the officers serve on a volunteer basis, without compensation.