Third of Three Regional High-Speed Rail Seminars to Bring International Experts Together With American Transportation Leaders to Discuss Building America's New High-Speed Rail System

National High-Speed Rail Media Roundtable and Conference Call with FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the heels of President Obama's historic announcement awarding $8 billion in high-speed rail grants around the nation, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the International Union of Railways (UIC) are hosting a two-day high-speed rail workshop in Los Angeles. The third of three regional workshops held around the country this week, this high-level event will feature FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo and other international experts in high-speed rail and transportation policy at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel from February 11-13, 2010. The workshop will bring together experts from the public and private sectors to provide insight and best practices for implementing high-speed rail projects at every stage – from planning, to financing, to construction, to operations and management.

In addition to FRA Administrator Szabo, featured speakers during the course of the workshop include Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority; and David Crane, special advisor to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. More information about this event, including the full program of speakers, is available at www.apta.com.

Additionally, APTA and UIC will host a national media roundtable and conference call on Thursday, February 11th from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. (PST).  The roundtable will discuss the national plan for high-speed rail as the United States moves forward with designing and implementing the corridors funded by the Obama Administration to form an efficient, integrated network around the country. Details on the February 11th media roundtable are below.

Attendance at the high-speed rail symposium is free for media, but an RSVP for the media roundtable is required (see RSVP information below).

WHAT:  High-Speed Rail Media Roundtable and Conference Call

WHO: Joseph Szabo – Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)

William Millar – President, American Public Transportation Association (APTA)    

Rod Diridon – Chair, APTA High-Speed & Intercity Rail Committee, and a member of the California High Speed Rail Authority

Representative of the Union Internationale des Chemins de fer (UIC –International Union of Railways) (To Be Determined)

WHEN: Thursday, February 11, 2010

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (PST)

WHERE: Millennium Biltmore Hotel

Cordoban Room

506 South Grand Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90071

RSVP: **Members of the media are invited to join by phone. Please RSVP to Alina Piacentino at [email protected] by Wednesday, February 10. Call-in information will be sent upon RSVP.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of over 1,500 public and private member organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne passengers services, and high-speed rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products. More than 90 percent of the people using public transportation in the United States and Canada are served by APTA member systems. Additionally, information regarding APTA's leadership role in the issue of High-Speed Rail can be found at APTA's Center for High-Speed Rail, which builds on the high-speed rail efforts of other already existing APTA committees and which offers online resources at www.highspeedrailonline.org.

The International Union of Railways (UIC) is the worldwide organization for international cooperation among railways. UIC's main missions are to promote rail transport across the world in order to cope with current challenges of mobility and sustainable development, by enhancing international cooperation between its members, building a consistent railway system and achieving projects of global dimension.

SOURCE American Public Transportation Association