Tom Compson

Tom Compson

(True to his photo): “I’ve been interested in passenger trains since childhood. But what really lit a fire was traveling to the East Coast and Europe and experiencing what fast, frequent, reliable, modern passenger rail service is like compared to the antiquated, sporadic, unreliable service we have in most of the US. From my experience, all Americans need and deserve good passenger rail service.”

Tom sees RPA’s biggest advocacy challenge is growing sufficient energy and public and private support to get the attention and consistent support of decision-makers at all levels, federal, state and local. For example: Tom says Congressman Colin Allred (now a candidate for the U.S. Senate) is a consistent supporter. On the private sector side, he has been working with a local developer who owns a redeveloped multi-use property next to Houston’s Amtrak station, and hopes to work with Downtown Houston on improving the passenger experience there.

He sees the passage of the Bi-partisan Jobs & Infrastructure Act as a huge victory that resulted in part from considerable input from RPA’s national staff. The Act put over $66.3 Billion in federal funding on the table for development of more and better passenger rail.

“As RPA Executive Director Jim Mathews has repeatedly stressed, the focus now has shifted, or expanded, to the state and local levels, as most of the FRA programs for expanded and improved passenger rail service call for matching funds from the states for detailed studies and implementation. We must develop and nurture relationships with legislators and commissions, MPO’s etc. at the state and local levels to establish support for this funding.”

Tom’s education includes a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from the University of West Virginia College of Graduate Studies, Charleston, WV (now part of Marshall University)

Tom career in the oil pipeline and natural gas industries has taken him from his home state of Ohio to West Virginia and Houston, Texas, where he has resided since 1998.

“My business and personal travel has reinforced my view that we need affordable, safe, convenient, reliable alternatives to dangerous, crowded freeways and cramped airports and planes. Driving and flying now ranges from being inconvenient and tedious to terrifying. It is way past time for America to join the rest of the developed world in providing modern passenger rail service to our citizens.”