For the last two years, I have served as one of four delegates from our state on the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission (MIPRC). The commission was formed in 2000 to bring state leaders across the region together to support improvements to local passenger rail travel. Recently, the commissioners gathered in Chicago for our annual meeting to discuss the current growth in Missouri and throughout the Midwest.

We had good news to share about Missouri ridership. Ridership is up 78 percent from FY 07, with 196,661 passengers in FY 13. On-time performance is at 90 percent, ticket revenue is up 153 percent since FY 07. Additionally, customer satisfaction is at an all-time high at 91 percent, which is also the highest in the nation.

Nationally, last fiscal year, Amtrak reached an all-time high for ridership, with 31.2 million people taking advantage of the ease of travel offered by the rail service. In the Midwest corridor alone, with the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Ohio, ridership has doubled since 2004 and increased over the last five years by 35 percent.

MIPRC works with the federal government to create a collaboration that rivals other forms of transportation.  The organization also supports individual states in the region regarding their efforts to move forward with their transportation needs. The main goal for the MIPRC panel and its commissioners is to promote both current improvements and long-range plans for intercity passenger rail service in the Midwest; coordinate interaction among Midwestern state officials, including those in the public and private sectors at all levels of government; and encourage current state efforts underway through state transportation departments.

Another topic discussed during this year’s meeting was the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) project. This project, signed into law in 2012, will create a system to address certain challenges in our country’s transportation system, including improvements to safety, infrastructure condition and efficiency of freight movement. It address rail issues and reauthorizes certain rail-highway safety programs.

During the meeting, we learned that rail service performance, ridership, public opinion and ticket sales have seen an overall increase over the last year. As a frequent train traveler, I am supportive of rail travel and the benefits it brings to our district. I encourage you to take advantage of this economical mode of transportation that runs through our legislative district in Johnson County. For more information on rail travel in Missouri, please visit www.amtrak.com or www.morail.org, or for general transportation information, visit www.modot.org.

As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.