Rail Passengers Urges Senate to Confirm Bose to Lead FRA

For Immediate Release (21-16)

Contact: Sean Jeans-Gail (202) 320-2723; [email protected]

Rail Passengers Urge Confirmation of Bose to Head Up Rail Agency

Washington, D.C. -- The Rail Passengers Association is urging the Senate to confirm Amit Bose as Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in advance of today’s Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing.

“We believe Amit Bose’s nomination reflects serious intent to put the best people in place at a time when Americans across the political spectrum, and their elected representatives, have broadly agreed that the time has come to build out the U.S. passenger rail network,” wrote Jim Mathews, Rail Passengers President and CEO. “The Rail Passengers Association believes Mr. Bose is an excellent choice to supply energy, expertise, and practicality to the task of balancing the interests of railroads, operators, labor, shippers and passengers to achieve key national objectives in a meaningful timeframe. We strongly encourage his confirmation and look forward to working with him and his team to quickly build a safe, modern, reliable rail network that successfully and safely produces benefits for passengers—and the rail industry as a whole—throughout the U.S.”

Earlier this week, Mr. Bose—who currently serves as Deputy Administrator at the FRA—addressed the Rail Passengers’ RailNation:DC virtual advocacy conference, where he spoke about the agency's work to prepare for the influx of rail funding included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

“There’s tremendous enthusiasm and public support for better passenger rail connections, like the high-speed rail project in California, along the Northeast Corridor, and also private sector initiatives like the one in Texas with Texas Central that would connect Dallas to Houston, or the Brightline projects in Florida or connecting California to Nevada,” said Mr. Bose. “The Biden-Harris vision for improving passenger rail throughout the nation isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, we want to make sure Building Back Better is done right the first time, in a way that fits the specific area that has needs.”

Rail Passengers supporters took part in the virtual briefing as part of our campaign to get the bipartisan infrastructure bill across the finish line. This week, Rail Passengers is working to connect passengers with their elected officials on how Amtrak supports strong towns and vibrant economies.

The full letter is included below.

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September 13, 2021

The Hon. Maria Cantwell The Hon. Roger Wicker

Chair, Senate Committee on Ranking Member, Senate Committee on

Commerce, Science and Transportation Commerce, Science and Transportation

Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chair Cantwell and Ranking Member Wicker:

The Rail Passengers Association would like to offer its support to advance the nomination of Amit Bose as Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. For many years, this Committee has acted in a refreshingly bipartisan way to move our nation beyond just laying asphalt as the answer to any surface-transportation problem and continues to advance a broader view of our transportation challenges and the economic opportunities they offer to move us forward. Rail Passengers believes confirming Mr. Bose as FRA’s leader would reflect well on those objectives.

Mr. Bose’s biography is well known to the Committee: from his time as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill to today as he reprises his role as Deputy FRA Administrator, he offers strong and broad qualifications suited to this unique moment in rail policy history. Most recently at consultants HNTB before rejoining FRA as Deputy, Mr. Bose also served in the FRA chief counsel’s office and boasts 16 years of public-sector experience spanning the legislature, the FRA, the U.S. DOT, New Jersey DOT and New Jersey Transit. He has invested significant time and developed meaningful expertise in some of the most critical projects in recent memory – the Northeast Corridor Gateway program, the California High-Speed Rail Project, the NEC Future effort, Southeast Passenger Rail and the Build America Bureau.

He also enjoys a well-deserved reputation for collaboration across diverse stakeholder groups, working closely with industry, labor, passengers, community residents and their elected officials. Mr. Bose made stakeholder consultation a primary focus in just his first few days on the job earlier this year, and we have no doubt that he will continue to do so as the Administrator.

The Rail Passengers Association is the oldest and largest national organization serving as a voice for the more than 40 million rail passengers in the U.S. Since 1967, our mission has been to improve and expand conventional intercity and regional passenger train services, support higher speed rail initiatives, increase connectivity among all forms of transportation and ensure safety for our country's trains and passengers. We believe our grassroots work makes communities safer, more accessible and more productive, improving the lives of everyone who lives, works and plays in towns all across America.

We believe Amit Bose’s nomination reflects serious intent to put the best people in place at a time when Americans across the political spectrum, and their elected representatives, have broadly agreed that the time has come to build out the U.S. passenger rail network. The Rail Passengers Association believes Mr. Bose is an excellent choice to supply energy, expertise, and practicality to the task of balancing the interests of railroads, operators, labor, shippers and passengers to achieve key national objectives in a meaningful timeframe. We strongly encourage his confirmation and look forward to working with him and his team to quickly build a safe, modern, reliable rail network that successfully and safely produces benefits for passengers—and the rail industry as a whole—throughout the U.S.

Sincerely,

Jim Mathews

President & CEO | Rail Passengers Association/NARP

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About Rail Passengers Association

The Rail Passengers Association is the oldest and largest national organization serving as a voice for the more than 40 million rail passengers in the U.S. Our mission is to improve and expand conventional intercity and regional passenger train services, support higher speed rail initiatives, increase connectivity among all forms of transportation and ensure safety for our country's trains and passengers. All of this makes communities safer, more accessible, and more productive, improving the lives of everyone who lives, works and plays in towns all across America.

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