WASHINGTON — Richmond, Va.’s, newly-rehabilitated Main Street Station will host Amtrak’s once-yearly public Board of Directors meeting on Friday, Dec. 1.
Unlike last year’s annual meeting at St. Louis Union Station, this year’s gathering will be preceded by presentations from Virginia and North Carolina passenger rail operating agencies, as well as Amtrak officials.
The meeting will review fiscal year 2023 and provide an overview of Amtrak’s strategic priorities and annual operating plan for fiscal 2024.
The public can attend in person or remotely, but as was the case in 2022, the company says “participation is limited” and all attendees must register in advance. The deadline is Nov 27; registration is available at this website.
The session begins with display tables open at noon; presentations on new service and corridor expansion from Amtrak, Virginia, and North Carolina officials start at 1 p.m.
The public board meeting will run from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Current board chairman Tony Coscia is expected to preside as he did at last year’s St. Louis meeting. Coscia has been renominated by President Joe Biden, but his confirmation and that of two other nominees — Normal, Ill., Mayor Chris Koos and Joel Szabat of Virginia — will not be considered by the Senate unless U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) is satisfied that additional members from outside the Northeast Corridor are nominated [see “Kansas Senator places hold …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 23, 2023].
As a result, it is likely that only current board members — who continue to serve even though their terms have expired — will participate in-person or virtually.
Let me guess. Are they going to once again dismiss concerns from any attendees, about their continued neglecting of the Texas Eagle, about the displeasure they earned for their refusal to reverse any of the heavy cuts they put on it?
Mr. Pinckney’s point was that the Board should meet in a rural area. Although St. Louis is outside the NEC, it certainly is not rural.
When was the last time the Amtrak Board met in a rural state, where it would perhaps serve a need? I’m thinking of Montana, Wyoming, or even Kansas. There is more to our nation than the NEC.
Missouri, where they met last year, is certainly not the Northeast corridor.