Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains

June 2011 Meeting Details

Our guest speaker will be Mr. Roy Tolson, the director of the Office of Railroads for the Division of Intermodal and Freight Programs at the SC DOT. Roy previously held the position of rail manager in the former Division of Mass Transit (now the Office of Public Transit). He has worked in various capacities with SC DOT for many years, retiring and then returning under the state’s TERI program. During his tenure, he was involved with various highway project planning activities for the SCDOT. Roy is now responsible for coordinating and implementing initiatives relative to high-speed and intercity passenger rail as well as freight rail. This has required him to develop strong relationships with the rail industry, including Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration as well as Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads.

Roy holds an associate degree in civil engineering technology from Sumter Technical College. He is married and the father of two grown daughters and he and his wife enjoy spending time with their grandchildren.

The meeting location will be the Vista Room on Lincoln Street in Columbia. The Vista Room is in the former baggage/REA Express building and next to the former SAL Railway station in Columbia which is now the Blue Marlin Restaurant. The address of the Vista Room is 1200-B Lincoln Street and the phone number is (803) 799-3838. The website is www.bluemarlincolumbia.com. (Click on "The Vista Room" on the left menu).

We can begin gathering at 11:30 a.m. for lunch with the business meeting to follow in the Vista Room. Parking may be limited since this is a popular dining area in Columbia. Parking meters are not used on Saturday so parking is free ..however, you may have to hunt a little.

Lunch will be a flat price for everyone. $25.00 each will cover a Caesar salad; your choice of four different entrees (shrimp and grits, blackened salmon, encrusted grouper or chicken pasta); tea or coffee; tax and gratuity; and your share of the room fee.

• Welcome
• Guest speaker Roy Tolson - Director of the Office of Railroads for the Division of Intermodal and Freight Programs – South Carolina Department of Transportation
• Secretary's report
• Treasurer's report
• Update on an attempt by Republican legislators in the NC General Assembly to kill federal grants for high speed rail, and pass a budget which kills many rail and transit initiatives in North Carolina's urban areas
• Update on the resolution drive in South Carolina in support of expanded rail passenger service, and additional inserts for the resolution drive brochure
• Update on recent push by a Central Midlands coalition for a Columbia-Charlotte connection to the high speed rail network
• Status of efforts to produce new CAPT brochure featuring maps of present and possible future rail passenger service
• Update on CAPT newsletter and website issues
• Amtrak update
• North Carolina transit update
• Reports by Officers and Directors
• Planning for future meetings
• Adjournment