The board of directors of the Indiana High Speed Rail Association recently voted to change the name of the organization. Depending on approval from the state of Indiana, the group will soon become known as the Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance.

The board members see the name change as supportive of the ongoing effort to promote passenger rail services in Indiana. Current efforts include a study and expansion of Amtrak’s Hoosier State line from Chicago to Indianapolis by way of Dyer, Rensselaer, Lafayette and Crawfordsville; and an economic development study of the Northern Indiana corridor by the Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association that links Columbus, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Warsaw, Valparaiso, Gary and Chicago.

The group also intends to support and encourage the proposed expansion of the South Shore Railroad commuter line in Northern Indiana and the plans of the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority for a commuter light rail system, which is under consideration in the Indianapolis area.

The Indiana High Speed Rail Association was originally organized by public relations consultant Dennis Hodges of Gary, and Gwendolyn Adams and Joseph Frierson, then of the City of Gary, in March 1992. The group was incorporated on June 15, 1994.

Also, re-elected to the board of directors of the association, among others, is Mark Dobson of the Warsaw/Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce.

Source: Indiana High Speed Rail Association, Inside INdiana Business