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Last week, the OneRail Coalition sent a letter to Rep. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who chairs a Senate Appropriations Committee subcomittee, urging the subcommittee to increase support for railroad investment in the FY2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill (H.R. 3288).

Freight- and passenger-rail infrastructure improvements offer significant environmental, energy and mobility benefits, and will create jobs, particularly in states that have experienced significant job losses in other industries, coalition members wrote in the letter.

Members include the Association of American Railroads (AAR), American Public Transportation Association, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, National Association of Railroad Passengers, Amtrak, National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, Railway Supply Institute, States for Passenger Rail Coalition, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and United Transportation Union.

AAR officials also sent their own letter to conferees regarding H.R. 3288. The association urged lawmakers to continue supporting a number of provisions included in the bill, including the Projects of National Significance Program, rail safety technology grants, and high-speed and intercity passenger-rail grants.

The AAR also called on Senate members to drop a House provision that would require a Surface Transportation Board study on liability.