H. Res. 1301 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

May 5, 2010. 

Whereas in 1830, the Nation’s first passenger and freight 

railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio, revolutionized transportation in the United States; 

Whereas on May 10, 1869, in Promontory Summit, Utah, the 

golden spike was driven into the final tie that joined 

1,776 miles of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways, transforming America by creating the Nation’s 

first transcontinental railroad; 

Whereas by 1910, trains carried 95 percent of all intercity 

transportation; 

Whereas after 1920, rail passenger revenues declined due to 

the rise of the automobile; 

Whereas in the 1930s, railroads reignited popular imagination with service improvements and new, diesel-powered 

streamliners; 

Whereas on May 26, 1934, the Pioneer Zephyr set a speed 

record for travel between Denver and Chicago when it 

made a 1,015-mile, non-stop ‘‘Dawn-to-Dusk’’ run in 13 

hours and 5 minutes at an average speed of 77 miles per 

hour and, during one section of the run, reached a speed 

of 112.5 miles per hour, just short of the then United 

States land speed record of 115 miles per hour; 
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Whereas on January 22, 1935, the 400, later named the 

Twin Cities 400, traveled 400 miles between Chicago and 

St. Paul in 400 minutes; 

Whereas at its inception in 1935, Time magazine dubbed the 

400, ‘‘the fastest train scheduled on the American continent, fastest in all the world on a stretch over 200 

miles’’; 

Whereas the resurgence in passenger railroading was shortlived, as the continuing rise of the automobile, the devastating economic impact of two World Wars, the creation of the Interstate Highway System, the increasing 

availability, comfort, and convenience of air travel, increasing train fares and decreasing service, and a number 

of railroad bankruptcies, mergers, and acquisitions took 

their toll on passenger rail service in the United States; 

Whereas by 1965, only 10,000 rail passenger cars were in operation, 85 percent fewer than in 1929, and passenger 

rail service was provided on only 75,000 miles of track; 

Whereas in 1970, Congress saved passenger rail service in 

the United States by creating the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, known as Amtrak; 

Whereas since 1970, the Federal Government has invested 

nearly $1,300,000,000,000 in our Nation’s highways, 

more than $484,000,000,000 in aviation, and 

$67,000,000,000 in passenger rail; 

Whereas with the enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 110– 

432) in the 110th Congress and the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5) in 

this Congress, Congress charted a new course for Amtrak 
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and for the development of high-speed and intercity passenger rail in the United States; 

Whereas the Recovery Act provided $8,000,000,000 in grants 

to States for the development of high-speed and intercity 

passenger rail and $1,300,000,000 for Amtrak for capital, safety, and security improvements; 

Whereas the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010, 

provided an additional $2,500,000,000 to States for investment in high-speed and intercity passenger rail and 

more than $1,500,000,000 to Amtrak for capital and operating expenses; 

Whereas the Federal Railroad Administration received 259 

applications totaling $57,000,000,000 for the 

$8,000,000,000 in funds available under the Recovery 

Act; 

Whereas in January, the President announced the recipients 

of the $8,000,000,000 in Recovery Act funds for development of high-speed and intercity passenger rail service in 

13 corridors spanning 31 States; 

Whereas Amtrak has selected projects in 44 States to invest 

its $1,300,000,000 in Recovery Act funds; 

Whereas these and continued investments in developing a national high-speed and intercity passenger rail system will 

revitalize passenger rail service in the United States, help 

develop a domestic manufacturing base for high-speed 

and intercity passenger rail, and create good jobs in the 

United States; 

Whereas Amtrak ridership grew every year from 1998 to 

2008 and the railroad carried 27,200,000 passengers in 
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2009, making it the second-best year in the company’s 

history; and 

Whereas Amtrak has designated May 8, 2010, as National 

Train Day to celebrate America’s love for trains: Now, 

therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) recognizes the important contributions that 

trains and Amtrak make to the national transportation 

system; 

(2) supports the goals and ideals of National Train 

Day as designated by Amtrak; and 

(3) urges the people of the United States to recognize such a day as an opportunity to celebrate passenger 

rail and learn more about trains. 

Attest: 

Clerk.