May 9 th, The Marshall

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.

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

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.

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, in federal grants.

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

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

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

Texas Eagle Stations Local Revenue Management Stations FY 08 Total Riders On/Off FY 07 Total Riders On/Off Riders % Change 08 vs. 07 Revenue % Change 08 vs. 07 Walnut Ridge, AR4,0573, Little Rock, AR19,72416, Malvern, AR1,7161, Arkadelphia, AR1,4801, Texarkana6,9725, Marshall, TX7,4065, Longview, TX27,92021, Mineola, TX4,3763, Dallas, TX35,86027, Fort Worth, TX40,82231,

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 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. Arkansas Political Support

Advancement of South Central Corridor in Arkansas

RouteSegmentMilesTravel Time AVG. MPH U.S. 59 (I-69) Texarkana - Marshall 662 hrs 15 min I-20 Marshall – Fort Worth 1825 hrs 20 min Source: Amtrak’s Texas Eagle Timetable as of 10/27/08. Current Times and Speeds 29 32

RouteSegmentMilesDowntown to Downtown U.S. 59 (I-69) Texarkana - Marshall 7050 min I-20 Longview – Fort Worth min I-20 Bossier City/Shreveport - Metroplex min I-20 Mineola (Tyler) – Dallas 8059 min Based on average speed of 80 MPH Potential Travel Times

Next Steps

Vision

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

Economic Benefits from Ridership Growth Potential Vision: Economic Benefits from Ridership Growth Potential  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.

Planning: Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas Representing 50 Million People Source: US Census – 2008 Estimate South Central Corridor Meridian Speedway

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

City Texas Eagle Bossier City/Shreveport Commuter Meridian Speedway New Orleans/ Baton Rouge Extension New Orleans, LA Shreveport, LA Marshall, TX Longview, TX Mineola (Tyler, TX) Wills Point, TX Terrell, TX Forney, TX Dallas, TX CentrePort/DFW Airport Fort Worth, TX Planning: I-20 DFW-East Texas Corridor Service

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

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

Funding: Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) passed, Oct 2008 YearOperating Capital Expenditure States 2010$580M$975M$300M 2011$592M$1.02B$400M 2012$616M$1.27B$500M 2013$631M$1.32B$600M Congressionally Authorized Funding for Amtrak (Public Law PRIIA) Federal match to state dollars authorized at 50/50 in 2010 and 80/20 beyond

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

Potential Funding: Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) Funding

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

Implementation: Double-tracking the East Texas Corridor by Connecting Existing Sidings RouteSegment Miles of New Track Current Projected Costs Using Industry Standards U.S. 59 (I-69) Texarkana to Marshall 64.5$142 Million I-20 Marshall to Dallas 140.1$308 Million I-20 Bossier City/Shreveport to Marshall 39.7$87 Million

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

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

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