ABSTRACT

In this talk, Mr. Lerch will start with the goals of the High Speed Rail Service on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Boston, MA, and Washington, DC. He will describe the necessary steps to achieve high speed rail travel on the NEC. Mr. Lerch’'s extensive involvement in system design and planning will provide us with an overview of the technical issues of the system. Benefits of the High Speed Rail Service and progress of the project will be also explained in detail.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Based at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, Amtrak's project director Bill Lerch negotiates and executes vendor contracts for commissary operations across the Amtrak system. A 27 year veteran in the railroad industry, Mr. Lerch has helped operate both freight and passenger railroad service throughout the United States. As assistant general manager of Division Operations on Amtrak's new england division between 1991 and 1997, Mr. Lerch helped plan construction, facilities and service operations for High Speed Rail System.