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NARP's map is based on established travel patterns using all modes. The assumption is that rail could play a role in each of these markets. Its a start, but more market research needs to be done to justify any particular route development, and that's as it should be. I don't think NARP considers the map to be the final word, but rather a starting point for policy discussion. NARP has a more complete plan buried deep in its website at <a href="http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/resources/more/mpt/">http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/resources/more/mpt/</a> It goes into more detail on how to accomplish its goals. You'd think they'd have a link on the "vision" page to the "plan" page (and I even wrote to them suggesting they do so) but they still haven't bothered. I'm a NARP member, but this is the sort of thing where I have problems with NARP. NARP does good work behind the scenes, mostly putting out political fires, but they do a terrible job at getting the word out to the public at large. When I ride the Starlight, I often meet other regular passengers. The vast majority of them have never even heard of NARP. If NARP can't even get the word out to Amtrak's regular customers,  how do they expect to get the average citizen to pay attention?As for NARP's stated goals, I have long believed that there is a strong latent demand for rail passenger services of all types. Where trains have been reintroduced, ridership often exceeds expectations. Even the much maligned long distance trains manage to sell out fairly regularly despite poor connectivity, unreliable timekeeping, and middle of the night hours at many stops. If Amtrak can do that, think what it could do if the trains ran consistently on time, with easy connections, at convenient schedules. But the public can't openly "demand" a service that most Americans don't even know exists, much less know anything about.
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