MAYOR JOHN ROBERT SMITH ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF AMTRAK BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Washington, DC - The Amtrak Board of Directors today unanimously elected Mayor John Robert Smith of Meridian, Mississippi as Chairman of the Board. Mayor Smith has served as a member of the board since June, 1998 and succeeds former Chairman and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson.

Smith emphasized the board of directors' commitment to the preservation of the national system. "I believe very strongly that our country's economic competitiveness and the mobility of all Americans depends upon a vital national passenger rail system," Smith said. "Working with President Bush, Congress, governors, mayors and business and community leaders across this country, I'm committed to securing sufficient funding for Amtrak's national network in the year ahead and -- in the long-run -- helping policymakers ensure the kind of rail service our nation needs."

Acting Chairman Dukakis nominated Smith and will continue to serve as the board's vice chairman. "I nominated Mayor Smith for the chairmanship because he has been a superb board member and an eloquent champion of a modern, national, high-speed rail system," said Dukakis. "He has the skills to harness the energies of our fellow board members and our dedicated employees to build the kind of first-class passenger rail system that America deserves."

Smith is Chairman of the National Corridors Initiative, an advocacy organization for the development of high-speed passenger rail, Chairman of the Great American Station Foundation, a non-profit organization promoting economic development in the nation's cities, and a member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Transportation Committee.

A Republican, he is currently serving his third term as mayor of Meridian, having first been elected in 1993. A widely regarded leader in regional economic development, Smith is also the founder and co-chairman of the Crescent Corridor Coalition, which is composed of mayors dedicated to the development of higher-speed passenger rail services in the southeastern United States.

Mayor Smith received B.S. degrees in pharmacy and biology & chemistry from the University of Mississippi.