May 9 th , The Marshall

1. On Behalf of Chairman Tim Vaughn, The East Texas Corridor Council Welcomes You to the 2009 Ark-La-Tex Passenger and Freight Rail Summit May 9th , The Marshall

2. Mission Statement To develop a regional consensus for capacity investments to secure higher speed rail for the 8 million residents along the I-20 & U.S. 59 (I-69) corridors from Dallas/Fort Worth to Arkansas and Louisiana border connections.

3. Implementing a Realistic Passenger Rail System for the Ark-La-Tex

4. Goals • Short Term • Negotiate with host railroad for infrastructure and capacity improvements to permit additional freight and passenger schedules. • Long Term • Double-track the East Texas Corridor from Texarkana to Dallas and Marshall to Shreveport.

5. Current Accomplishments • Texas Rail System Plan stakeholder as required by statute. • Facilitated MOU between the East Texas, North Texas, and Louisiana regions. • Project advisor for coordinated statewide rail and express bus network study. • East Texas higher speed rail feasibility study funded by $740,000.00 in federal grants.

6. Realities Within The East Texas Corridor 2008 - 2009

7. Funding: First Dividends from The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 April, 2008 2 hours and 52 minutes late Average Late Train at Any East Texas AMTRAK Station April, 2009 7 minutes late

8. Texas Eagle FY ‘08 - % Comparison to National System Up 18.8 % Up 15.2 %

9. FY ‘08 Performance Number 1 of 15 Long - Distance Trains in Ridership Growth Number 2 of 15 Long - Distance Trains in Revenue Production October – March FY ‘09 Ridership and Revenues +13.7% +14.9 %

10. Texas Eagle Stations Local Revenue Management

11. Arkansas Political Support • At the request of the East Texas Corridor Council, Arkansas Congressman Marion Berry adds language to extend South Central Corridor from Little Rock to Memphis, 149 miles, in Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act signed by President Bush in October 2008. Arkansas House Majority Leader Steve Harrelson secures $100,000 to begin funding of feasibility study for Texarkana-Little Rock-Memphis segment of South Central Corridor.

12. Advancement of South Central Corridor in Arkansas

13. Current Times and Speeds 29 Source: Amtrak’s Texas Eagle Timetable as of 10/27/08. 32

14. Potential Travel Times Based on average speed of 80 MPH

15. VisionPlanningFundingImplementation Next Steps

16. 10 Emerging Megaregions Vision

17. Existing Federally-Designated High Speed Rail Corridors Vision: Connect the South Central and Gulf Coast HSR Corridors

18. South Central Corridor will capitalize on long-standing business and leisure travel patterns between Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. Dallas-Memphis is designated a “High Priority” travel corridor by Federal Highway Administration. Higher speed rail will provide an attractive alternative to Interstate Highway congestion. Arkansas and Memphis service will substantially funnel ridership to East Texas and Shreveport via the Marshall gateway, enhancing economic and political viability of entire corridor. Vision: Economic Benefits fromRidership Growth Potential

19. Planning: Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas Representing 50 Million PeopleSource: US Census – 2008 Estimate South Central Corridor Meridian Speedway

20. Planning: I-20 DFW-East Texas Corridor Service CentrePort/DFW Airport Station Stop Additional Amtrak Slots

21. Planning: I-20 DFW-East Texas Corridor Service

22. Planning: Exceptional Opportunity for Intermodal Air/Rail Station at Texarkana Source: Arkansas State Representative Steve Harrelson

23. Planning: Exceptional Opportunity for Intermodal Air/Rail Station at Shreveport Source: Photographer John Harris

24. Funding: Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) passed, Oct 2008 Congressionally Authorized Funding for Amtrak (Public Law 110-432 - PRIIA) Federal match to state dollars authorized at 50/50 in 2010 and 80/20 beyond

25. Funding: American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) • $1.3 billion for Amtrak • $850 million in capital funding • $450 million for safety and security • $8 billion in high speed rail funding • Directed toward 10 high speed corridors • FRA Guidelines have not yet been announced • State Transportation Plan funds - $27B • Eligible for rail transportation projects

26. Potential Funding: Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) Funding

27. Implementation: Community Investments Local Station Renovations Marshall, TX Texarkana, USA Completed In Discussion Mineola, TX Longview, TX Completed Underway

28. Implementation: Double-tracking the East Texas Corridor by Connecting Existing Sidings

29. Implementation: Current Cost Comparisons Two clover-leaf interstate highway interchanges About $537 Million Source: Texas Department of Transportation Double-tracking the entire 245 mile East Texas Corridor from Texarkana to Dallas and Bossier City/Shreveport to Marshall About $537 Million

30. Implementation Historic signing of memorandums of understanding between summit participants representing Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.

31. Join us as higher speed rail becomes a major stockholder in your future…today! Tim Vaughn, Chairman Committee Chairs Judge Richard Anderson, Government Affairs Tim Geeslin, Strategy Barbara Musgraves, Communications Deitrich Johnson, Recording Secretary Griff Hubbard, Executive Director