from the joseph r. biden amtrak station in wilmington, delaware. in newark, the university of delaware is building a new campus, the star campus which will build partnerships between regional entities. thomas jefferson university in philadelphia and the aberdeen proving ground in maryland and what makes that partnership possible is that backbone of the northeast corridor, the connection between these different cities that is made the stronger and better because of passenger rail. i hope from these few examples it's clear that passenger rail is also a critical exoanlt of economic development. passenger rail tends to link downtown urban areas and essential to anchoring their revitalization as the presiding officer knows so well. passenger rail is critical not just in the northeast corridor but in communities across the country that rely on it to connect with other communities and our economic centers. state supported services have become a major are scores of ridership growth, nearly doubling between 1998 and 2013. long distance ridership across the