The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the International Union of Railways (UIC) announced that Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo and FRA Deputy Administrator Karen Rae will be keynote speakers at regional seminars on high-speed rail in February.

APTA and UIC developed three regional seminars to provide U.S. decision makers with the information necessary to implement high-speed rail. The seminars, titled "International Practicum on Implementing High-Speed Rail in the United States," will be held on February 8 to 9 in Washington, D.C.; February 9 to 11 in Chicago; and February 11 to 13 in Los Angeles.

The programs feature practitioners from high-speed rail systems around the world and will focus on best practices and lessons learned from European and Asian systems. Experts from Spain, Germany, Japan, Korea, Italy and France will share their experience and knowledge, with U.S.-based speakers providing appropriate context for application in the North American operating environment.

The seminars are designed for local decision makers and practitioners, including executive and senior transportation managers, strategy experts, chief engineers, economists and stakeholder organizations who must understand the issues that they will face as their regions develop high-speed rail. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials will grant professional development hours to state DOT employees enrolled in the practicum.

This is the first set of seminars developed under a new partnership between APTA and the UIC. The two groups will now be able to engage in extensive information sharing that can cover the various technical, finance and management aspects of planning and building high-speed rail systems.

To register for the seminars, go to www.apta.com.