Wednesday, 18 August 2021
Pacific Northwest Rail Forum
2:45 PM Mountain TimeVenue Information
Big Sky Resort 50 Big Sky Resort Road Big Sky Montana 59716 (800) 548-4486
Pacific Northwest Rail Forum, Big Sky, MT (DRAFT)
2021 Annual Summit of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region
2:45 Mountain Time: Rail Across the Region
- Bruce Agnew, moderator
- Ross Lane, VP of Corporate Relations at Montana Rail Link
- Matthew Jones, Executive Director of Public Affairs, BNSF
- UP (invited)
- WATCO (invited)
- Curtis Shuck, Executive Director, Great Northern Corridor Coalition (invited)
- Peter Armstrong, Rocky Mountaineer (invited)
3:15 MT: Passenger Rail’s Economic, Environmental, and Equity Benefits for Northwest Communities
- Economic benefits
- Abe Zumwalt, Board Member, All Aboard Washington
- Environmental benefits
- Tim Gould, Sierra Club of Washington State
- Equity for underserved people and rural communities
- Anna Zivarts, Disability Mobility Initiative, Disability Rights Washington
- Martin Charlo, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
- Charles Hamilton, Co-Executive Director, All Aboard Washington
3:45 MT: US Federal Rail Infrastructure Initiatives
- Update on passenger rail and capital investments
- Congressional representatives (invited)
- Rail Passengers Association (NARP) staff (invited)
- Federal Railroad Administration staff (invited)
4:00 MT: National Legislative Opportunities
- Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Working Group
- Dan Bilka, Board Member, Rail Passengers Association
- National Rail Commission update
- John Robert Smith, Chairman, Transportation for America
4:25 MT: Regional Service Restoration Efforts
- Reviving a Rail Revolution:: Cascades update and expansion goals
- Patrick Carnahan, AAWA & AORTA
- Gary Wirt, Vice-President, All Aboard Washington
- Idaho & Oregon restoration and expansion
- Elaine Clegg, President, Boise (ID) City Council
- Jon Nuxoll, Immediate Past President, AORTA
- Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority briefing
- David Strohmaier, County Commissioner, Missoula County, MT
4:55 MT: Washington and Oregon Legislative Rail Caucuses
- Washington State Legislative Rail Caucus
- Rep. Andrew Barkis, Washington Legislature
- Luis Moscoso, Government Affairs Director, All Aboard Washington
- Oregon State Legislative Rail Caucus
- Sen. Chris Gorsek, Oregon Legislature