Summer Travel

For Immediate Release (18-32)

Contact: Xenophon Strategies - (202) 289-4001

Third Annual Summer By Rail Links Train Travel To America’s Greatest Pastime

Washington, D.C. - The third annual Summer by Rail journey kicks-off on May 26, and this year’s trip comes with a curveball.

With a route that runs 6,000 miles from Miami, FL to Seattle, WA, the Summer by Rail correspondent Jacob Wallace, 21, will visit 19 different Major League Baseball (MLB), Minor League Baseball (MiLB), and independent league stadiums in the U.S. and Canada. During the 37-day baseball extravaganza, Wallace will utilize public transit with a focus on passenger rail to explore how North America’s transportation infrastructure can connect people with one of the oldest summer pastimes.

“I love baseball, I love hot dogs, I love warm summer nights. If I didn't enjoy the heck out of baseball, there's no way I'd be bringing myself to 19 games in six weeks,” said Wallace, who is a major Texas Rangers fan and a rising journalism senior at American University in Washington, D.C. “Besides all the other reasons, baseball and trains mix because they're just so quintessentially American, right up there with apple pie.”

Starting May 26 in Miami, Wallace will use only intercity rail and other forms of public transit like bike-share and ride-share services to go from game to game and town to town. Wallace’s first game will be on the 27th when the Miami Marlins face the Washington Nationals at home at 1:10pm.

“Our third annual Summer by Rail really brings a unique aspect to traveling across North America this year,” said Rail Passengers Association President Jim Mathews. “We know people love to attend sporting events in big and small cities, especially baseball in the summer. What people hate though, is the hassle of driving and parking, then waiting to leave after the game. This year’s trip will highlight just how easy and convenient is for fans to connect to Wrigley Field in Chicago or Comerica Park in Detroit using passenger rail and other public transit services.”

The trip will conclude July 1 at a Seattle Mariners game against the Kansas City Royals at 1:10pm, but along the way Wallace will also travel to Washington, D.C., Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee to see the Nationals, Tigers, White Sox, Cubs and Brewers, among other MLB teams. Wallace will also visit small-town baseball teams like the Savannah Bananas, Durham Bulls, and Vancouver Canadians to see first-hand how fans utilize public transit to get to and from the ballpark.

In between games, Wallace will meet with elected city officials, transit advocates, and small business owners to listen to the public transit needs and plans for these cities, as well as what tools these communities need to bolster their local infrastructure.

“We need baseball in a similar way that we need trains - an afternoon or evening at the ballpark provides us with a place to connect and commune with people that we might not otherwise share a connection with,” Wallace said. “Trains, meanwhile, provide us with a physical connection to places that we might not otherwise share a connection with. It's that ability to connect that made the two so interesting to me in the first place.”

Wallace will share regular updates on his trip, highlights of using public transit, and share other riders’ views on using services like Amtrak.

Updates can be found online at the Summer by Rail blog, www.summerbyrail.com, and on Instagram and Twitter using the handle @RailPassengers. You can also find posts using the hashtags #SummerbyRail, #SBR2018 and #SummerTraining.

About the Rail Passengers Association

The Rail Passengers Association, previously known as the National Association of Railroad Passengers, is the oldest and largest national organization speaking for the nearly 40 million users of passenger trains and rail transit. We have worked since 1967 to expand the quality and quantity of passenger rail in the U.S. Our mission is to work towards a modern, customer-focused national passenger train network that provides a travel choice Americans want. Our work is supported by more than 28,000 individual members nationwide.