About
Harvey Bowen
Harvey Bowen
An active and engaged passenger rail advocate, Harvey Chairs RPA’s Bylaws Committee and participates in many other committees and working groups.
His passenger rail advocacy service also includes:
- Rail Passengers Association – Council Member since 2015 with prior service as an alternate. He has attended most or all RPA semi-annual council meetings since 2015 and is an active participant in NW Division Council Reps activities.
- Volunteer participant in organizing Washington State Day on the Hill visits and worked on six or more RPA Northwest Regional annual meetings since 2003.
- All Aboard Washington (formerly Washington Association of Railroad Passengers) – Director Emeritus, former Board President, Former Vice-President, Former Treasurer (all at different times)
- National Park Service Trails and Rails – Interpretive Guide on the Empire Builder and/or Coast Starlight for over 12 years. Currently volunteering on the Coast Starlight between Seattle and Portland.
- Professionally involved in passenger and freight railroading as a Software Testing Architect and in the design and management of farebox systems. While doing so, I have, when possible, used my professional positions to advocate for more and better passenger rail services.
"It is an honor to be recognized by the Rail Passengers Association for my efforts to strengthen and expand America’s passenger rail. Golden spikes were once used by railroads to mark the completion of important rail projects, so I am truly grateful to receive the Golden Spike Award as a way to mark the end of a career that I’ve spent fighting to invest in our country’s rail system. As Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, it has been my priority to bolster funding for Amtrak, increase and expand routes, look to the future by supporting high-speed projects, and improve safety, culminating in $66 billion in new funding in the Bipartisan infrastructure Law."
Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
March 30, 2022, on receiving the Association's Golden Spike Award for his years of dedication and commitment to passenger rail.