In November, the Alliance, in partnership with the UIC Urban Transportation Center, sent a letter to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in support of the application of the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission (MIPRC) for the Midwest to participate in an FRA-led regional rail planning process.
Enacted in 2000, MIPRC is an interstate compact commission among nine member states–Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Its purpose is to promote, coordinate, and support regional improvements to passenger rail service.
MIPRC has taken a primary role in working to ensure that the federal government develops an enduring collaboration with the states for passenger rail development similar to other modes of transportation and that Midwestern states have the support and interstate coordination they need to proceed with the region’s passenger rail improvement plans. MIPRC has worked closely with the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI) to promote the build-out of the plan it has been developing for almost 20 years.
MIPRC and Midwestern state departments of transportation have identified the need to update the plan to encompass additional states, new and potential routes, work completed on existing corridors and studies undertaken by various groups in the region. The MIPRC-led proposal also identifies the critical need to evolve the region’s passenger rail governance structure to coordinate ongoing regional planning, oversight, political and educational efforts.
The Alliance asked the FRA to give the Midwest and the MIPRC-led submission priority in the next decision for a FRA-led regional rail planning project.
Download the MIRPC letter of support (PDF)