FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10/05/00


State Rail Passenger Group to Meet in Burlington


(Burlington, Iowa)öThe Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers (IARP) will
be meeting at 2:45 p.m., Saturday, October 28, 2000, at the restored
Burlington Amtrak Train Depot, 300 S. Main Street, Burlington, Iowa. 

The meeting will include discussions of the proposals for additional rail
passenger service across the state and the region. Presentations are
expected from the Iowa Department of Transportation and others about rail
passenger service. The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative which involves
enhanced rail passenger service to Iowa and eight surrounding states will
be one of the topics.

The meeting is open to the public and the public is invited to attend.

An informal lunch with individual settlement will be held at Big Muddy's
Restaurant (housed in a former railroad freight house), 710 North Front
Street, Burlington (319) 753-1699 at 12:30 p.m., prior to the meeting.

The formal meeting is part of a series of events over a two day period. The
events include: tours of the restored depot, from 10:00 a.m. to noon,
Saturday; a tour, reception and meet the authors presentation at the Apple
Tree Museum , 1616 Dill Street, Burlington at 7:00 p.m.; and a tour of the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Locomotive Shops, West Burlington, on
Sunday morning.

The special presentation is by railroad historians and authors Brent
Maxwell and Bill Lindsay. They wrote "The Story of the Muscatine,
Burlington and Southern Railway Company."

Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers President Henry C. Wulff of
Urbandale, says IARP is a state-wide group that supports rail service--both
passenger and freight. Wulff also says the group meets at various locations
throughout the state.

Previous recent meeting sites have included Amana, Des Moines, Iowa City
and Davenport.

Membership information is available from the Iowa Association of Railroad
Passengers, Inc., 3349 Southgate Court, SW, Suite 108, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
52404-5424. Membership information will also be available at the meeting.
Information about the organization is available on the Internet at
http://www.simpson.edu/~iarp.

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