**PRESS RELEASE** Get on Board Forum Oct 30 - Fargo/Moorhead

MEDIA CONTACT

Brian W. Nelson

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 4212
St. Paul, MN 55104

612-781-2894 (Telephone)
[email protected]

Web Site Address:
www.allaboardmn.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For immediate release: October 16, 2019

October 16, 2019 (St. Paul, MN) The passenger rail advocacy group All Aboard
Minnesota is encouraging community members to learn more about the benefits of
proposed additional passenger train service connecting Fargo/Moorhead to the Twin Cities
and Chicago on October 30.

The Get on Board forum takes place Wednesday, October 30, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30
p.m. at the Hjemkomst Community Center Auditorium in Moorhead, MN. All Aboard Minnesota President Brian Nelson stated: "Fargo/Moorhead is currently served by Amtrak's Empire Builder passenger train, but that train eastbound and westbound comes through in the early morning hours. We are proposing, along with the MnDOT State Rail Plan, daytime passenger service that will offer great convenience for the traveling public connecting Fargo/Moorhead to the Twin Cities and beyond." A representative from MnDOT will attend the forum to answer questions about this proposed new service.

All Aboard Minnesota estimates that an additional 100,000 riders would ride the new train between Fargo/Moorhead and the Twin Cities alone. Nelson added: "Not only are there mobility benefits, especially for those who can't or don't wish to drive or fly, but there are significant economic benefits this new passenger train service would provide for Fargo/Moorhead and the state."

Nelson will present the details and benefits of the proposed additional service. Nelson said: "We believe more passenger rail service is a great step towards a more connected Minnesota. Even though the Empire Builder passes through in the middle of the night, over 20,000 people from the Fargo/Moorhead area each year use this train. Ridership would be much stronger in the daytime." According to Amtrak figures, over 140,000 Minnesotans and 103,000 North Dakotans annually use the Empire Builder. “Offering more passenger train service from Fargo/Moorhead to the Twin Cities and Chicago expands mobility opportunities not only for travelers between the these major metropolitan areas, but for all of the other communities in between," Nelson added.

About All Aboard Minnesota
All Aboard Minnesota is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit advocacy and educational organization focused on the expansion and development of more long distance rail passenger service as part of a balanced transportation system. We are dedicated to the development of fast, comfortable, frequent, intercity passenger train services within and connecting Minnesota to the upper Midwest.

For more information, All Aboard Minnesota can be reached at (612) 781-2894 or on the Web at: www.allaboardmn.org.

2019 All Aboard Minnesota. All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.