Samish Bay, Bellingham, WA, photo by C. Hamilton
Samish Bay, Bellingham, WA, photo by C. Hamilton

The Train Trek Project

Be a Stop on AANW's Train Trek!

About the Train Trek: Help Revive Passenger Rail In Your Community

The Project

Train Treks are a series of outreach and engagement meetings held in local communities. They are an efficient and effective way to meet local stakeholders, gain valuable information, make the proper connections, and build the coalitions needed to realize visionary, large-scale, infrastructure projects.

Train Treks can be focused along a specific corridor (for a specific route proposal), a specific audience (elderly, college students, etc.), a specific type of development (Transit Oriented Development, local industrial economic development), or scope of service and benefit (rural communities with few other options).

All Aboard Northwest (AANW) is requesting funding and sponsorship of Train Treks in order to further the call for a robust multi-modal transportation network. We have a list of valuable Train Trek proposals that will further the goals of seamless transportation in the Greater Northwest Region; robust infrastructure investment. A sponsor can fund the Train Treks, or one or more specific Train Trek that aligns with their specific goals.

Need

Personal Connections

Even in the 21st Century, showing up matters. We gain far more insights and local respect by meeting with people in person, although we offer electronic connections to those who cannot attend otherwise.

Regional Focus

We need to collaborate over state lines if we hope to succeed where previous efforts have fallen short. Advocacy efforts focused on the state level can be isolated, and too small-scale to respond effectively to large, systemic problems. National advocacy is important, but much decision-making is made by state and local governments; national organizations do not have the resources to be represented in each state capitol. Thus, the region is the correct scale to organize and address these issues; it is especially well-suited is our Greater Northwest region.

Purposes

The purposes of Train Treks are to:

Goals

  1. Educate the public about a route, issue, or scope of focus.
  2. Receive support (probably predominantly vocal - non financial).
  3. Fulfill an “action call” (support for a specific proposal, vision, project, legislation)
  4. Research and information about a local, that we can convey to the right persons/interest groups/ elected leaders.
  5. Implement long-term economically-viable, user-friendly, non-automobile transportation services through the region on a core passenger rail system: Seamless transportation.

History

2023 Train Trek

2022 Train Trek

2021 Train Treks

Next Steps

  1. Follow-Up with Stakeholders and Attendees
  2. Establish Regional Legislative Session Goals
  3. Develop a Communications/Messaging Strategy
  4. Develop specific Volunteer Positions
  5. Collaborate with communities that have expressed interest in further cooperation and joint activities

Sponsor Our Train Treks!

Financial support/sponsorship to pay basic administrative costs and fund travel needs (hotels, venues, food, etc) along the Trek. We estimate an approximate budget need of $20,000 for a regional Train Trek.