September 8, 2025 - TRA Newswire -

Amtrak President Roger Harris will be the featured luncheon speaker at a national gathering of passenger rail advocates in San Antonio on Saturday, October 4.

DC-based Rail Passengers Association holds their national fall meeting in a different city every year and for 2025 the Alamo city was picked for the event, titled RailNation San Antonio. 

Harris leads a team responsible for Service Delivery & Operations; Commercial; Strategy, Planning & Accessibility; Real Estate; and Host Railroad functions. He will be joined by Elaine Clegg, who serves on the Amtrak Board of Directors. Two of Amtrak's national trains serve San Antonio, the Texas Eagle and the Sunset Limited. Clegg is chief executive officer of Valley Regional Transit (VRT) – the largest transit provider in Idaho – which serves the greater Boise area. 

Attendees on Saturday, October 4 will also hear from Caroline Mays, Director of Planning and Modal Programs at the Texas Department of Transportation. In this role, she is responsible for the management and control of the Aviation, Maritime, Public Transportation, Rail, and Transportation Planning and Programming divisions.

Travis County Judge Andy Brown is scheduled to speak to the advocates. Judge Brown leads the Commissioners Court in Austin and he has been vocal for adding regional rail service between Austin and San Antonio.

In-person registration for RailNation San Antonio closes September 15th and can be accessed through this link. The conference is $192.00. Virtual registration is also available. Onsite registration will not be available. 

Events will be held at Holiday Inn San Antonio-Riverwalk. Council members of Rail Passengers Association will hold meetings starting Friday afternoon, October 3 with their national business meeting of the Council on Sunday, October 5.

Editors note: Texas Rail Advocates is a sponsor of RailNation San Antonio