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ACHIEVEMENTS
• Texas Eagle web site
• Expansion of Thruway bus service to destinations not directly served by the Texas Eagle.
• Reasons to Ride • Participation in the successful Texas Eagle local revenue management project. This project, which began on August 23, 1999, allows those familiar with local travel trends to shift pricing within Amtrak's paramaters to maximize riderhip and revenue. At the request of Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the Texas Eagle local revenue management team began providing a similar service for the Heartland Flyer in April 2003.
• Texas Eagle route guide
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BACKGROUND
TEMPO was created by Amtrak at the request of the Texas Eagle Mayors' Coalition, to establish a mechanism for local input to Amtrak on issues affecting the Eagle. Marshall, Texas was selected as the site for the initial meeting, on September 15, 1997. Meetings are scheduled quarterly, with the location rotated among cities served by the Texas Eagle in Texas and Arkansas. TEMPO members include representatives and elected officials from cities along the route, rail advocacy groups in Texas and Arkansas, Amtrak's Marketing Department, and employees (both management and union) responsible for operation of the Texas Eagle. Each member promotes the Texas Eagle in his or her own community, while working to increase awareness of the train among civic leaders and elected officials. TEMPO was originally formed to supplement and assist with Amtrak's "Grass Roots" marketing campaigns, and this activity remains a very important part of the group's focus. On-board service, timekeeping, scheduling, condition of stations, and many other "internal marketing" issues also affect ridership, so TEMPO now offers input to Amtrak on a variety of concerns, in addition to more traditional marketing efforts. ONGOING PROJECTS • Support for the development of higher speed rail service in the FRA designated "South Central HSR corridor", both to speed Texas Eagle operations and to expand infrastructure to support additional service. • TEMPO strongly supports efforts by the East Texas Corridor Council to bring expanded passenger rail service to the Texas Eagle route from Dallas/Fort Worth to Texarkana and Shreveport, as well as similar efforts by the Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council to implement additional rail service south of Austin. • All routes function best as part of an interconnected network allowing passengers to travel between routes. TEMPO continues to promote the restoration of a satisfactory Texas Eagle schedule which allows same-day connections with all other national network trains in Chicago.
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MISSION STATEMENT
• To promote and improve Amtrak passenger train service along the route of the Texas Eagle, with particular emphasis on service in Texas and Arkansas. • To make communities aware of Amtrak service, and aware of the economic benefits of passenger train service. •To encourage tourism development along the route by increasing the utilization of the Texas Eagle. • To work for continuous improvement of the product received by the passenger, by providing input to Amtrak on issues related to both service and train operation. MEETING LOCATIONS
Marshall, TX 9/15/1997 |