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 transpor-
tation 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 rail-
ways, 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 imagina-
tion 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 con-
tinent, fastest in all the world on a stretch over 200 
miles’’; 
Whereas the resurgence in passenger railroading was short- 
lived, as the continuing rise of the automobile, the dev-
astating economic impact of two World Wars, the cre-
ation of the Interstate Highway System, the increasing 
availability, comfort, and convenience of air travel, in-
creasing 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 op-
eration, 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 Pas-
senger 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 Invest-
ment 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 pas-
senger 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 cap-
ital, safety, and security improvements; 
Whereas the Transportation, Housing and Urban Develop-
ment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010, 
provided an additional $2,500,000,000 to States for in-
vestment in high-speed and intercity passenger rail and 
more than $1,500,000,000 to Amtrak for capital and op-
erating 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 develop-
ment 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 na-
tional 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 recog-
nize such a day as an opportunity to celebrate passenger 
rail and learn more about trains. 
Attest: 
Clerk.