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On behalf of The Rapid and the Bergmann Associates / Progressive AE team and stakeholders we invite members of the City of Grand Rapids community to take part in the Public Forum meeting regarding the following:

The Interurban Transit Partnership (ITP) - The Rapid plans to construct a new AMTRAK Passenger Station, and accompanying track improvements, next to the Rapid Central Station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This addition to the Rapid Central Station completes the original master plan for the campus by integrating rail, intercity bus and fixed route bus into a single facility, thereby making travel within and outside the region a seamless experience.

The proposed site is south of the Rapid Central Station and the Wealthy Street overpass. The project includes a new AMTRAK Passenger Station and new spur rail from the existing CSX mainline near the corner of Buchanan Avenue and Pleasant Street in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The new track would extend north towards the Rapid Central Station. The project eliminates traffic impacts while the train is at the station as well as reducing operating costs for AMTRAK on the Pere Marquette route.

The Public Forum meeting will take place on:
DATE: Tuesday, August 30, 2011
TIME: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
LOCATION: Rapid Central Station
250 Grandville Ave. SW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
ROOM: RCS 2nd Floor Meeting Room

Members of the community representing the various businesses, organizations, and institutions are encouraged to participate at the meeting and provide their comments and suggestions to the project team. Presentations from the Bergmann Associates / Progressive AE design team will be available for review.

For any further information please contact Mark Fedorowicz, Purchasing Manager; 300 Ellsworth Ave. SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 at:

Tel: (616) 456-7514
Website: http://www.info@ridetherapid.org

Respectfully,

Mark Fedorowicz
Project Manager
The Rapid

The Amtrak Pere Marquette Train 37l-operating between Grand Rapids, MI and Chicago, IL-will be operating 90 minutes earlier than its normal schedule from Monday, August l5 through Thursday, September 1, 2011. The change will let CSX Transportation replace ties and rail between Holland, MI and Porter, IN. Train 370 will be unaffected.

The new schedule is as follows:

Grand Rapids, MI (GRR)
Departs: 6:05 AM

Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Arrives: 9:03 AM

Holland, MI (HOM)
Departs: 6:51 AM

Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Arrives: 9:03 AM

Bangor, MI (BAM)
Departs: 7:32 AM

Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Arrives: 9:03 AM

St. Joseph, MI (SJM)
Departs: 8:09 AM

Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Arrives: 9:03 AM

The Pere Marquette arrives in Holland from Chicago/St. Joseph/Benton Harbor/Bangor each evening around 9:30. The train station is within easy walking distance of Holland's vibrant downtown. The two downtown lodging options are CityFlats Hotel (http://holland.org/locations/388-cityflats-hotel) and the Haworth Inn and Conference center (http://holland.org/locations/72-haworth-inn-conference-center). In case you need a ride, The Doubletree by Hilton (http://holland.org/locations/226-doubletree-hotel-holland) and the Haworth Inn both offer shuttle vans that will arrange to pick you up at the train station. You can find hotel, cottage and Bed and Breakfast information here.

There are several ways to get around Holland, including taxi and rental car services: Classic Macatawa Taxi Transport & Delivery (616) 510-8143 Rosebud Taxi Service (616)796-0458, (616)796-0657, J&S Taxi (616) 335-4842 J-n-R Taxi & Courier Service 1-866-JNR-TAXI (567-8295) (616) 796-0600

Hertz, Avis and Enterprise car rental services are available in Holland as well. There are three bike rental options in Holland, Cross Country Cycle (616.396.7491), Beachside Bike Rentals (616.399.9230) and Rock 'N' Road Cycles (616.796.0010). Contact them for more details, and make sure to request a copy of the area bike map. Restaurants Downtown Holland's bustling restaurant scene offers food for every taste, but some local favorites are the Windmill Restaurant for breakfast, lunch time at Froggy's or 8th Street Grille, or outside on that patio at the Curragh Irish Pub.

Make sure to visit the New Holland Brewing Company, City Vu Bistro, or the Alpen Rose Restaurant for dinner.

If you head out to the beach (via rental car- it's a six mile drive!), you can catch a sunset from Holland State Park or from the top of Mount Pisgah. Dinner at the Ottawa Beach Inn Ottawa Beach Inn is close to the Lake and a local favorite. A visit to Holland isn't complete without exploring some of the Dutch history that makes the town unique. The Tulip Time festival every May is a highlight, but visitors can enjoy the Holland Museum Holland Museum or DeKlomp Wooden Shoe & Delft Factory, and Dutch Village or Windmill Island Gardens seasonally.

Many weekly and seasonal events take place in Holland- check out the events tab at Holland.org for details when your visit gets closer. Also, request a copy of the All About Holland guide for more details about the weekly Farmer's Market, the Tulip Time Festival and our Downtown Holland events.

According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Battle Creek passenger train station is the first in Michigan to receive its piece of federal grants for high-speed rail improvements. The $40 million portion that Michigan would receive will fund upgrades at stations in Dearborn, Troy, and Battle Creek.

One of the goals is to upgrade rail facilities to safely accommodate current and increased high-speed passenger rail services. Renovations to the 2,500 square-foot station are expected to begin early next year. Work is said to be done to the lobby, which will include new furnishings, plus upgraded technology and security. Restrooms will be updated, and a family restroom will be added, as well as mechanical and plumbing systems. Exterior improvements include updated lighting, landscaping, and a more contemporary refacement of the building. The station was built in 1982 and serves as an inter-city bus hub, as well as Amtrak bus connection. The renovations will also include more green technologies to promote energy efficiency of the station.

Take the Train to St. Jo This segment of WZZM Take Five is sponsored my Amtrak Pere Marquette and highlights St. Joseph as a great family getaway. Whether it be a day trip or a weekend getaway, watch here to see all that St. Joseph has to offer.

Ring up four categories, earn up to 1,700 bonus points!

Anytime you use an Amtrak Guest Rewards® partner, the points add up fast. But transact in four different categories during our Partners for Points promotion from June 1, 2010 - July 31, 2010, and the rewards are remarkable. Up to 1,700 bonus points are yours when you mix it up and do some shopping, enjoy a hotel stay, take a cruise and rent or share a car. The first purchase in each category qualifies for the points. Variety is the spice of life to be sure.

Here's how it works:

When you consider that free Amtrak® travel starts at just 1,000 points, this is a promotion that should set you in motion. So register today!

• Earn bonus points on partner transactions from June 1 - July 31, 2010.
  • Earn up to 1,700 bonus points. Earn bonus points on your first transaction within a category. Members can only earn one bonus point award in each category during the promotional timeframe. Use all four categories and earn an additional 1,000 bonus points. o Shopping: Earn 100 bonus points with 1-800-Flowers, Audience Rewards, Barclay's Wine, Buy Points, Energy Plus, Points for Wireless, Samsonite, TD AMERITRADE, Teleflora, Vinesse o Cruise: Earn 200 bonus points with Cruise Locators o Car Renting/Sharing: Earn 200 bonus points with Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, Zipcar o Hotel: Earn 200 bonus points with Choice, Hilton, Hyatt, Omni, Starwood, Wyndham
  • Bonus points are awarded on the first transaction within each category.
  • Must be an Amtrak Guest Rewards® member and register for this offer online
  • Members must include their membership number with partner transactions in order to receive the points.
  • Cancelled or refunded purchases/bookings will be deemed ineligible.
  • Please allow 4-6 weeks from promotion end date for bonus points to be awarded.
  • Other terms and conditions may apply.

Great news!
The Michigan Senate just passed Senate bill 1164 which is the transportation appropriation bill for fiscal year 2011, ending September 2011. This bill provides full funding for Intercity Passenger Rail service (Amtrak) of $8.667 M. The bill must still pass the House, but we are optimistic that it will do so intact.

This funding impacts the Bluewater and Pere Marquette routes, which are partially funded through Michigan appropriations This is a big step in that in previous years, funding has been cut and then MARP has gone through the year having to work with legislators on Supplemental funding to ensure continuation of service for both of the state supported routes.

You may remember that for fiscal year 2010, funding was cut significantly, but a couple months ago the Supplemental appropriation was passed to ensure service will continue for the full year. MARP continues to work very closely with our legislators to ensure service continues on all routes in Michigan and investment continues to be made on the high speed corridor between Detroit and Chicago. Ridership in April was up over 16% on all Michigan routes vs. 2009.

Things you can do to make a difference:

Get the tips to see the small things you can do that really make a difference.

Join the challenge now and plant trees today.

Choose to travel by rail and reduce your carbon footprint.

To read more click HERE

• Amtrak Locator ($2.99) – Use your GPS location to determine the closest Amtrak to your location or simply search by the city, state or ip code. The list of Amtrak locations are displayed on your iPhone form the closest to the farthest from your location. Amtrak Locator provides you with details on each Amtrak location like it’s phone number, address, etc. Features Include: - Interactive map dispay showing the Amtrak locations - The most complte Amtrak Locatore applications on the iTunes App Sotre. - Narrow your search by radius from 15, 50, 100 or 300 miles - Amtrak details from address to the phone number - Search by address, city, state or zip - Easy to use interface with built-in instructions right on the app in case you need any help - Utilize your GPS location to display the Amtrak closest to your current location

• Train Whistle! (Free) –Train Whistle is an accelerometer-based application with high quality audio. Just shake or tap your device to operate. Also, please visit the built in web browser which will direct you to the app store for more "Instrument!" programs.

• Train Conductor ($1.99) - Deliver trains to their destinations in 8 levels of evolving gameplay, including a complete parallel ghost world, online Plus+ leaderboards and so much more. Become a Train Conductor today! Deliver trains with the swipe of a finger, avoid disastrous collisions and collect experience points to unlock new levels.

iPhone Game of the Year 2009 - diygamer.com Features Include: - Complete parallel GHOST WORLD! - Online Plus+ leaderboards - compare scores with friends - 8 levels to unlock, each with their own unique challenges (4 Day & 4 Night) - Wide variety of conditions; Gold Rush Trains, Demon Trains, Ghost Trains and different weather patterns - Lush handcrafted 3D graphics, gorgeous environmental effects and ambience

• Railroad Rush ($0.99) - Railroad Rush brings the good, old model railroad back to iPhone! You are in charge of the track network with the order to control the direction of all trains. Work the switches at the right moment and make sure all railroad engines will reach their destination depot just in time! Master all levels in “extreme” mode to receive the title: “Master Conductor”! Feature Include: - 30 challenging levels - Various levels of difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard and the infamous “Extreme” mode - Collect all items on the tracks to get more bonus points - 19 exciting achievements (e.g. „Triple Crash“ or „Master Conductor“) - High score rankings for each level and overall - Invite your friends via Facebook or Twitter and challenge them - Explore who’s playing the game and compete against players all over the world - Keep listening to your iPod music while playing - Retro model railroad feeling on your iPhone!

• Locomotive Toy ($0.99) – Shake Side to Side to Make Chug Chug Sound Effects. Become your own imaginary steam train conductor just by shaking the iPhone or iPod Touch. Shaking side to side produces fun chug chug noises.

Shake Fast: The faster you shake your phone or iPod Touch the faster your train goes. Whistle Effect: And just like a train conductor, pull on your phone or iPod as you're shaking it and you'll hear the train's whistle blow.

Customer Self-Service Launches on Amtrak.com

Customers who book their reservation online can now make modifications to their reservation at Amtrak.com with a few clicks of the mouse. Rather than having to contact a ticket agent, customers have the flexibility to change their travel schedule or class of service online, as well as upgrade, downgrade and exchange tickets. Any reductions in fare will be refunded automatically while payment of fare increases resulting from reservation changes can be collected through the online system.

“This is an important step forward in customer service,” said Tony Flynn, eTicketing program director. “Even though we just launched this feature on April 6, our customers are already taking advantage of it to change trains or upgrade their travel.”

The online self-service feature is currently available for reservations made on Amtrak.com before a paper ticket has been printed. All customers will still need to pick up printed tickets at the station prior to boarding their train — but not for long.

This new self-service feature is the first of several upcoming eTicketing program features that will offer additional customer self service opportunities. In May, a new capability will be introduced that will enable customers to pick up their tickets at Quik-Trak kiosks even if their reservation was affected by a last minute schedule change or re-accommodation. Previously, customers were required to go to the ticket window to obtain tickets under such circumstances.

By late summer 2011, customers will also be able to print travel documents at home or at the office. Conductors will simply scan bar codes on the “print-from-anywhere” boarding pass, eliminating the need to collect paper tickets. Additional functionality will allow passengers to present their boarding pass on their smart phone, such as a BlackBerry or iPhone, making completely paperless travel possible.

The eTicketing program, once fully developed, is projected to deliver up to $14 million in additional ticket revenue annually by improving access to Amtrak ticketing, particularly at cities with unstaffed stations or for those customers booking outside the U.S.

Ridership and Revenue on Record-Breaking Pace

During the first six months of the FY '10 fiscal year, Amtrak carried a record high of 13,619,770 passengers -- a 4.3 percent increase over last year and roughly 100,000 more than the same period in FY '08, when the company set its all-time record for annual ridership. A slowly improving economy and continued high fuel prices are contributing factors in ridership growth.

Comparing March 2010 to March 2009, ridership increased by 13.5 percent to a record 2.47 million passengers for the month. In addition, every single Amtrak route carried more passengers, with several experiencing double-digit growth.

Read up on Amtrak around the country from March 28th Parade Magazine. A great article highlighting exquisite routes and the fact that the past two years have been the most profitable for Amtrak. The article also mentions a little bit of President Obama's $8 billion into improving our country's rail travel.

Click HERE to read more about Amtrak.

USA Today reported on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 that Amtrak has set a new record for the number of passengers carried during the week of Thanksgiving. The train reportedly carried 685,876 passengers between November 24 - 30, and 127,577 on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Click HERE for the full article!

Right now, Congress is finalizing next year's transportation appropriations bill, which could include an historic investment in high-speed passenger rail. Last month, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that included $4 billion for high-speed rail. The Senate cut the allocation down to $1.2 billion in their version, which passed last week. The two bills will now move to a conference committee, where they will decide the final amount of investment. The conference committee will be meeting soon in hopes of finalizing the bill by the end of the month. We'd like to send them a roster of support by the end of the week, so we need sign-ons quickly. Please help us achieve our goal! To get started, click HERE!

Thank you for your support.

Finally you can turn your trips to the station into a FREE vacation! Getting there is easy, the Amtrak Guest Rewards® World MasterCard® from Chase1 helps you earn free travel, flights, hotels, and car rentals.

Your earning power has only just begun. You earn 2 points for every dollar spent on Amtrak purchases and 1 point per dollar everywhere else.2

Just use the only card that rewards you at every stop for everyday purchases and let us do the rest. After your first purchase, you will automatically receive 5,000 bonus points3 redeemable for:

        Up to two Coach Amtrak tickets on select routes

        Airline miles or hotel points

        Gift certificates at leading retailers and restaurants

For more information and to start your trip with 500 bonus points visit http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com