Trails & Rails is a program of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

, in conjunction with

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

, wherein Ranger Guides and

Volunteers-In-Parks The American National Park Service's Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP) program was authorized by Public Law 91-357 enacted in 1970. The purpose of the program is to provide a way through which the NPS can accept and utilize voluntary help in such a way tha ...

provide

interpretation Interpretation may refer to: Culture * Aesthetic interpretation, an explanation of the meaning of a work of art * Allegorical interpretation, an approach that assumes a text should not be interpreted literally * Dramatic Interpretation, an event ...

of a region's history and ecology aboard select Amtrak train routes. The program's goal is to "reach out to people who may not traditionally visit National Park Service areas", according to former NPS Director Robert Stanton.

History

The idea behind Trails & Rails first formed from an Amtrak marketing director who was on board the ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betw ...

'' and overheard a

National Park Service ranger National Park Service rangers are among the uniformed employees charged with protecting and preserving areas set aside in the National Park System by the United States Congress and the President of the United States. While all employees of the age ...

talking with passengers about the sites outside the window of the

Sightseer Lounge The Superliner is a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United States. Amtrak ordered the cars to replace older single-level cars on its long-distance trains in the Wes ...

. That ranger, James Miculka, served as Chief of Interpretation at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in New Orleans, and started the program with staff from the park aboard the ''

'' and soon the ''

City of New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Trails & Rails officially became a nationwide program in 2000 when an agreement was signed between the National Park Service and Amtrak. Since then, the program has expanded to nearly two dozen routes under the leadership of National Coordinator Jim Miculka. Around 2007, NPS began a partnership with the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences (RPTS) at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

to house the management of the program there. RPTS faculty assists in training the new

(VIPs) who work on the program, as well as providing logistical and technical support to the program. RPTS faculty member Susan Scott serves as the Trails & Rails liaison, and coordinates training and support for the program. The program was suspended during the early

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, but resumed in a limited form in 2021. By 2023, eleven routes were participating.

Internships

Due to the unique relationship between the National Park Service and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...

's Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences, students of RPTS are able to support the program through their studies, gaining hands on experiences. Host Parks in other cities around the nation also seek interns from local universities to volunteer aboard the routes in their area. The

National Parks of New York Harbor National Parks of New York Harbor is the name of an office of the National Park Service that coordinates administration of eleven NPS sites that include 23 unique destinations located in the New York metropolitan area. National Parks of New York ...

have recruited students from local universities like St. John's to intern with the unit, and gain experiences volunteering aboard the '' Adirondack,'' in addition to their work at the parks.

History

Internships

Routes

Former routes

References

External links