Henderson’s Railmark Holdings, Inc., said it is returning to the passenger rail service sector through a subsidiary of the company, Train Travel, Inc.
Train Travel, Inc., provides consulting, operating, and mechanical services to transit agencies, intercity passenger rail operations, and states seeking expansion or new passenger rail services, said a Wednesday release from Railmark.
Railmark CEO B. Allen Brown told the Hendersonian Thursday that the company also plans to open travel agency services in the fall.
He said the travel agency specializes in rail-centric travel, an example of which could be creating a trip that includes travel by train and another mode of transportation for a more unique journey. He mentioned as an example a trip that the company used to offer when it was based in California that took travelers to Seattle by train, then from there to Alaska by boat and finally additional train travel while in Alaska.
He said the travel agency is a fully accredited travel agency.
The release from Railmark also said that Venetta Keefe has been hired as the director of passenger rail services for Railmark and Train Travel, Inc. Prior to joining Railmark, Keefe was a Midwest project manager for the Federal Railroad Administration where she oversaw nearly $305 million in federal passenger rail investments, said the release.
Prior to the FRA, Keefe worked for 24 years with the rail division of the Indiana Department of Transportation and finished her career there as state rail director. Keefe oversaw regulatory requirements for railroads in 89 Indiana counties and launched the first-ever state sponsored passenger rail service, Amtrak’s Hoosier State, a line that travels between Indianapolis and Chicago, said the release.
Railmark’s main office is located at the Union Station depot off of Second Street in Henderson, where Brown and contractors have been painstakingly rehabilitating the old station.
Brown said the travel agency will also open an office in Hopkinsville, where it currently also has an office.
The current announcements don’t mean, though, that passenger train travel out of Henderson is imminent, Brown said. He did say that statistics are showing that passenger train travel is becoming more popular, especially among younger travelers.
