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AASHTO rail conference planned in Coeur d'Alene

The Idaho Transportation Department will welcome rail passenger and freight authorities from throughout the country Aug. 28-31 for an annual conference on rail transportation issues. The 39th annual Standing Committee on Rail Transportation (SCORT) is a committee of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

More than 120 state and federal rail representatives are expected for the four-day conference at the Coeur d’Alene Resort on Lake Coeur d’Alene. ITD’s Ron Kerr and the Division of Transportation Planning organized this year’s conference.

It begins with Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail tour Sunday, Aug. 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A welcome reception is planned from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Three full days of conference meetings begins at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 29, with an opening session that includes an address by Idaho Transportation Board member John McHugh and Coeur d’Alene mayor Sandi Bloem. Robert Flanagan, secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, also will speak.

More than 35 sessions will follow, including:

• Amtrak Strategic Reform Initiatives
• Intercity Passenger Radio: Getting to Yes
• Lessons for Multistate Rail Corridors
• Rail Financing: So You Want to Finance a Rail Project?
• Shipper Requirements (moderated by Ron Kerr)
• SCORT committee meetings
• Roundtable discussions

The conference will include more than 40 presenters or speakers from agencies in Maryland, Delaware, Louisiana, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, Washington, Georgia, New York and New York City.

For more information, please see the conference Web site: http://freight.transportation.org/rail_meetings.html