The Great American Station Foundation

Reconnecting America grew out of the work of the Great American Station Foundation, which was formed in 1995 to assist communities with the revitalization of historic rail stations as a way to both improve transportation services and bring life back to downtowns. Several original documents from 2001 are available below.

The Great American Station Foundation's research found that station projects have tremendous power to link transportation to community revitalization, and are often the first step toward building transit-oriented towns. GASF realized that bringing different transportation providers together unlocks vital synergies in the transportation system, increasing customer choice and building stronger local economies. Making these connections – is challenging, but absolutely essential to resolving the apparent tension between effective transportation and vital communities. In order to help communities make the connections between transportation and development and between the different transportation modes the Great American Station Foundation’s Board of Directors revised our mission and our organization and broadened our scope. Reconnecting America was born in 2002.

Reconnecting America's Transportation Networks seeks to integrate our separate aviation, rail and intercity bus systems into an interconnected network in order to improve economic productivity, enhance consumer choice and value, and improve environmental performance and energy efficiency.

Through this initiative, Reconnecting America is working to redefine national policies for intercity travel with the intent of creating a more financially stable interconnected network for long distance travel – one that transforms airports and downtown train stations into travelports, where travelers can make convenient connections to air, higher speed rail or high quality bus service to complete their journeys.

The development of a coordinated systems approach will help to solve the financial crisis plaguing the airline, rail and travel industries in a way that improves economic and environmental efficiency and promotes consumer choice. Toward this end, Reconnecting America has been engaged in research, public education and communications.

This report was released at The U.S. Conference of Mayors Summit on A National Rail Policy for the 21st Century on Jan. 17, 2001. From the preface: "With our new century just starting, this is a good time for communities across the country to reflect on where we are and where we want to be. How do we make our cities places that improve the quality of life? How do we make them places where people interact, share ideas and build a future together?"

The Great American Station Foundation Guidebook On Train Station Revitalization is a 232 page practical manual on how to preserve railroad stations and transform them into centers of multimodal transportation, commerce, and economic development. The document includes a foreword by Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

The Great American Station Foundation Economic Impact of Station Revitalization reort was published in 2001. From the Executive Summary: "Urban renewal and city center development for communities of all sizes have become urgent priorities throughout the country, as the disadvantages of suburban sprawl become more and more apparent. ... Revitalized stations and multimodal transportation centers can serve as critcal anchors for urban redevelopment efforts, because a key potential benefit of an urban center location is its accessibility for regional employment and business exchanges."

Connecting America: Making the Case for Intercity Rail was commissioned by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA)’s Committee on Intercity Corridor Development and prepared by Reconnecting America in November 2005. From the opening of the paper: "Imagine traveling quickly and conveniently between cities, avoiding congestion on the highways and at the airports. Imagine being able to fly across the country, and catch a train at the airport that takes you to your final destination, all with just one ticket. Imagine a reconnected America, with a variety of affordable and convenient transportation choices for traveling between regions. We are at a time in history when such scenarios need not be just imagined, but realized. Now is the time for America to reinvest in rail to reconnect our communities; to improve our national transportation network for efficiency, security, and safety; and to help spur economic growth."

The December 2002 report,"Missed Connections: Finding solutions to the Crisis in Air Travel," is the first in a series of reports from the Reconnecting America project examining the current crisis in intercity travel in the United States and recommending a more economically stable and integrated system of travel for the country. This first report focuses on the aviation system. Future reports will analyze intercity rail, homeland security issues, and federal policy opportunities.

In 2002, Reconnecting America examined trends in air service in the United States in the 12 months following the September 11 attacks. Missed Connections II, published in December 2003, reviews the findings from late 2002. At the time, Congress had still not completed its efforts to reauthorize the federal transport legislation, although it had completed the aviation bill without addressing the fundamental issues raised in this report.

Three maps: U.S.DOT High-Speed Rail Corridors (March 13, 2001), Intercity travel demand (1995 data) and Study Lines for Improving Intercity Rail Service with Major Airports (Nov. 10, 2003)

The PowerPoint presentation "Intercity Travel Opportunities: Today and Tomorrow" was presented Feb. 22, 2007, by Shelley Poticha and Janette Sadik-Khan, when both were involved with Reconnecting America. The slides discuss Context of Intercity Passenger Rail, Lott-Lautenberg Reauthorization Bill and Key Themes in Amtrak Reauthorization Legislation. The majority of the presentation discusses train stations as the "missing link…and the economic development opportunity." In particular, the presentation discusses New York's Penn Station, Chicago Union Station, Washington Union Station and stations in Charlotte, Jacksonville, Denver, Portland, Seattle, Philadelphia, Meridian.