The Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting and Railroad Day on Capitol Hill are two events in D.C. that many in the railroad industry look forward to during the first quarter of every year. Both have major changes for 2015.For the first time in nearly 60 years, the TRB Annual Meeting will move to a new venue. The TRB 94th Annual Meeting will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., from January 11-15. It had been held for years at three Connecticut Avenue hotels —the Washington Marriott Wardman Park (formerly the Sheraton Park), the Omni Shoreham, and the Washington Hilton.With approximately 12,000 attendees, 5,000 presentations in more than 800 sessions and workshops, 350 committee meetings, and 200 exhibits during its four-and- a-half days, the annual meeting had grown so much that previous venues were stretched. Space in the Convention Center and at the adjacent, new Marriott Marquis headquarters hotel is expected to meet the needs of the annual meeting, with room for future growth.Meanwhile, you shouldn’t have to worry about bitter cold weather or snow in D.C. for Railroad Day on Capitol Hill in 2015. Organizers have moved the lobbying event from its traditional February/March timeframe to June because of a scheduling issue.Mark your calendars: Railroad Day on Capitol Hill is Thursday, June 4. It is an important industry event that includes meetings with members of Congress throughout the day and a high-profile legislative reception and dinner, which draws a virtual Who’s Who in the railroad industry. The host hotel is the Renaissance Washington D.C. Downtown. More event information is available here:
http://www.aslrra.org/meetings___seminars/railroad_day_on_capitol_hillHappy New Year to all my friends and colleagues. I wish you safe travels to D.C. and everywhere else on the rail meeting schedule in 2015.
---By Kathy Keeney
Kathy Keeney is Publisher of the Rail Group. The granddaughter of a railroader, she has been writing about railroads for nearly 30 years. She is a past president of The League of Railway Industry Women and served on the board of directors for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association and for the Washington Chapter of WTS.
Kathy Keeney is Publisher of the Rail Group. The granddaughter of a railroader, she has been writing about railroads for nearly 30 years. She is a past president of The League of Railway Industry Women and served on the board of directors for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association and for the Washington Chapter of WTS.