September 3, 2013 Mr. Joseph H.

Boardman President, Amtrak National Railroad Passenger Corporation 60 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 Dear Mr. Boardman: On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we would like to meet with you and the appropriate members of your staff to discuss how Amtrak can improve the quality of service for passengers who would like to travel on Amtrak trains while carrying a bicycle. Our organizations collectively represent hundreds of thousands of citizens who bicycle regularly and would like to be able to conveniently travel with their bicycles on Amtrak trains. The current requirement that bicycles be disassembled and boxed is a deal breaker, as it effectively prevents using the bicycle to get to and from the train station. Roll-on access is vital, especially for multi-modal commutes, day trips, weekend getaways and bike vacations where one leg of the trip would be by train. Cyclists are being forced to drive their cars for these trips or they are not taking their bikes, hindering the economic development of many popular cycling destinations that are served by Amtrak. In other areas of the country, such as the Pacific Northwest with its Cascade Line, bikes may be rolled on and hung on racks. This is the type of solution we would like to see on the East Coast. in fact, the Cascade service is so popular, the number of racks was expanded in July. If bikes can be rolled on Amtrak trains on the West Coast, why cant trains on the East Coast be retrofitted with similar racks? We are pleased to see that Amtrak has engaged bicycle organizations in New York, Vermont, and Michigan to organize several "bikes on board" demonstration runs in those states generating valuable feedback from participants as well as significant interest from the cycling community. The undersigned organizations, along with national cycling organizations, believe there is widespread demand for improved bicycle service on Amtrak, and that the time has come for Amtrak to consider a system wide solution that will bring this service to all the states in the MidAtlantic, Northeast regions and beyond. The railroads and cyclists have a long history of working together, going back 125 years to the Good Roads Movement. America would not have the network of roads today had we not worked together to improve the muddy quagmires of the 1890s. The time has come again for us to work together to create a convenient, multi-modal solution that benefits Amtraks travel offerings and benefits the traveling public. I urge Amtrak to take a leadership role and work with us to find an inexpensive, workable cycling solution that will generate greater rider ship for you and helps us get people out of their cars and on their bikes

Virginia Bicycling Federation PO Box 7282 Richmond VA, 23221

Mr. Joseph Boardman September 3, 2013 Page 2 of 7 I look forward to hearing from you on what the next steps are needed to make this vision a reality. Sincerely,

Champe Burnley President, Virginia Bicycling Federation

cc:

The Honorable Anthony Foxx, US Secretary of Transportation Senator Mark Warner, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, Virginia Senator Charles E. Schumer, New York Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, New York Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Maryland Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland Senator Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Senator Christopher Murphy, Connecticut Senator Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., Pennsylvania Senator Patrick J. Toomey, Pennsylvania Senator Richard Burr, North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan, North Carolina Senator Jeff Chiesa, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, New Jersey Senator Patrick Leahy, Vermont Senator Bernard Sanders, Vermont Senator Jack Reed, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Senator Edward Markey, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Senator Susan Collins, Maine Senator Angus King, Maine

Mr. Joseph Boardman September 3, 2013 Page 3 of 7

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 2121 Ward Court, NW, 5th Floor Washington, DC 20037 www.railstotrails.org

Adventure Cycling Association 150 East Pine Street Missoula, Montana 59802 adventurecycling.org

League of American Bicyclists 1612 K Street NW, Suite 510 Washington, DC 20006 www.bikeleague.org

Bikes Belong Foundation P.O. Box 2359 Boulder, Colorado 80306 bikesbelong.org

Bike Maryland 1209 North Calvert Street Baltimore, MD 21202 bikemd.org

East Coast Greenway 5315 Highgate Dr ste 105, Durham, NC 27713 www.greenway.org

New York Bicycling Coalition 5 New Scotland Ave Albany, NY 12208 www.nybc.net

Mr. Joseph Boardman September 3, 2013 Page 4 of 7

VT Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition PO Box 1234 Montpelier, VT 05601 (802) 225-8904 www.vtbikeped.org

New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition NJBWC Box 140 551 Valley Road Upper Montclair, NJ 07043 http://www.newjerseybikewalk.org

Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire 57 Regional Drive, Suite 6 Concord, NH 03301 http://www.bwanh.org/

MassBike 171 Milk Street, Suite 33 Boston MA 02109 massbike.org

Bicycle Coalition of Maine P.O. Box 15272 Portland, ME 04112

Bike Virginia 8005-C Creighton Parkway #205, Mechanicsville, VA 23111 bikevirginia.org

http://www.bikemaine.org/

Mr. Joseph Boardman September 3, 2013 Page 5 of 7

Bike Walk Connecticut PO Box 270149 West Hartford, CT 06127 http://www.bikewalkct.org

Transportation Alternatives 127 West 26th Street, Suite 1002 New York, NY 10001 http://www.transalt.org/

Washington Area Bicyclists Association 2599 Ontario Rd. NW Washington, DC 20009 www.waba.org

Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia 1500 Walnut Street, Suite 1107 Philadelphia, PA 19102 bicyclecoalition.org

Bike Pittsburgh 188 43rd Street, Suite 1 Pittsburgh, PA 15201 www.bikepgh.org

Greater Richmond Bicycle Coalition PO Box 14535 Richmond, VA 23221

http://www.rvabike.org/

Mr. Joseph Boardman September 3, 2013 Page 6 of 7

Coalition for Smarter Growth 316 F Street NE Suite 200 Washington, DC 2002 www.smartergrowth.net

Richmond 2015 200 S. 3rd Street Richmond, Virginia 23219 www.richmond2015.com

Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB) www.fabb-bikes.org Allegheny Trail Alliance P. O. Box 501 Latrobe, PA 15650 www.GAPTrail.org

Virginia Capital Trail Foundation P.O. Box 17966 Richmond, VA 23226 virginiacapitaltrail.org

Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau 120 East Main Street Ligonier, PA 15658

Balance For Cyclists 4510 Cox Road, Suite 111 Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 balanceins.com

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RAIL Solution 342 High Street Salem, VA 24153 www.railsolution.org www.steelinterstate.org

Sportsbackers 100 Avenue of Champions Richmond, VA 23230 www.sportsbackers.org

Rockbridge Area Conservation Council (RACC) P.O. Box 564, Lexington, VA 24450 www.rockbridgeconservation.org