Happening Now
Build Northwest Economic Forum & Pacific Northwest Rail Summit
Date
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 Friday, October 17, 2025
Location
Ecotrust Building 907 NW Irving Street Portland OR 97209
PNWER and the Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates (AORTA) are partnering with regional rail advocacy organizations to host the three-day summit.
Key Discussion Topics:
- Permit and regulatory reform at the federal and state/provincial/territorial levels
- Supply chain resiliency in bi-national economic corridors
- Public-private partnerships and innovative financing for transportation infrastructure projects
- Port, short line, Class I rail infrastructure needs
- Restoring and enhancing passenger rail service
"The National Association of Railroad Passengers has done yeoman work over the years and in fact if it weren’t for NARP, I'd be surprised if Amtrak were still in possession of as a large a network as they have. So they've done good work, they're very good on the factual case."
Robert Gallamore, Director of Transportation Center at Northwestern University and former Federal Railroad Administration official, Director of Transportation Center at Northwestern University
November 17, 2005, on The Leonard Lopate Show (with guest host Chris Bannon), WNYC New York.