Amtrak plans to tweak its annual National Train Day observance by making it a series of events held throughout the year.
Previously, Amtrak conducted a National Train Day on the second Saturday in May, although some communities held their own celebrations a week earlier.
Now Amtrak says it will expand from multiple events on a single day to individual events over the course of spring, summer and fall.
To be called Amtrak Train Days, the events are designed to celebrate with local communities why trains matter and reasons to ride.
Events will focus on reaching current and new audiences across America to reinforce the importance, benefits and value of passenger train travel.
The program will begin on May 9 in Chicago and include more than 20 events through the end of October. Locations and dates have yet to be announced.
Amtrak said events will feature a combination of outreach tools, including the Amtrak Exhibit Train in select markets, interactive displays at events sponsored by community organizations, Amtrak employee guest speakers, media and event promotions, and a toolkit to support local community activities.
Communities from across the nation are invited to join in the celebration of passenger train travel by hosting their own Amtrak Train Days events during 2015.
The National Association of Railroad Passengers commented that although the additional focus on local events will be welcome—and will help organizers better allocate limited resources—it remains to be seen whether a dispersed series of events can generate the same level of excitement as a national event.
Additional information is available online at Amtraktraindays.com.
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