Trains becoming better choice for Ohio cities

[ytowner]

I am against wasting our money on this project right now. We got far more pressing issues in our state.

[Leah]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  I really hope Youngstown is included as a stop on these proposed passenger trains.

I am a YSU student.  I want to pursue academic work beyond a bachelor's degree.  Unfortunately, I will probably have to do this in Cleveland, Akron or Pittsburgh.

Would save a heck of a lot of gas, if I could hop a train for that commute, rather than driving.

Would also give me time to study on a train that I wouldn't have while driving.  This equals more time with my family and less stress on my household.

I think many people in these circumstances would benefit, as would those who cannot find work in Youngstown and have to commute.

[Rick Rowlands]

Maybe before they do spend all that money on passenger rail that benefits SOME, why not spend it on fixing Ohio's roads that benefit ALL?  Or perhaps buy and stockpile enough salt so we don't have to endure what we are currently enduring? Maybe give some cash to the city of Youngstown so they can buy a couple more plow trucks-maybe GIVE them some old ODOT trucks? 

The rail idea and the seatbelt law are two sore thumbs that stick out at you.  One is completely out of place given the tough times we are in, and the other is out of place because it doesn't belong in a BUDGET.

[irishbobcat]

Looks like Gov. ted is taking a page from my playbook......

http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2009/02/strickland_releases_budget_det.html


Dennis Spisak
Mahoning Vallley Green Party

[irishbobcat]

Having faced a 2.9 million dollar shortfall as a Struthers Board of Education member, we cut excessive spending, cut white-collar administrative waste, spent money wisely on education projects, and got voters to pass a 6.9 mill five year levy.

The same could be done in Columbus will real leadership....not political games played by the Democrats and Republicans.

Dennis Spisak

[Towntalk]

Dennis:

Without going into pie in the sky projects please explain how the state is going to get itself out of the financial hole it's in.

It would be nice if the state adopted each and every one of your ideas, but where is it going to get the cold hard cash from to do it?

State of pain
http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/02/03/copy/STATE_BUDGET_mainbar.ART_ART_02-03-09_A1_B8CP854.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

Ohio budget balanced on more fees
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090203/NEWS0108/902030355/1055/NEWS


If you were in the General Assembly and on the Budget Committee what would you propose to wipe out all the red ink?

[irishbobcat]

Interesting to note that Governor Ted has again turned his back on his "old region."

Today in a newspaper report in addition to his 3-C trains he would consider building a line from Columbus to Toledo as well......

We elect representatives from our area and they forget about us once they hit the state house........when you take the boy out of the valley, they never bring anything back to the valley......


Dennis Spisak

Mahoning Valley Green Party

[Rick Rowlands]

IT would not take a big investment to run passenger trains from Cleveland to Pittsburgh.  All that is needed is a connection at Ravenna, chmp change compared to the cost of upgrading the old B&O between Columbus and Dayton or the madman's dream of building an all new rail line along I-71. 

[irishbobcat]

Trains becoming better choice for Ohio cities
Editorial
By Dayton Daily News
Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Gov. Ted Strickland, in his State of the State speech last week:

"We will work toward the restoration of passenger rail service between Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland ... for the first time in 40 years. This will be a first step toward a rail system that links neighborhoods within a city, and cities within our state."

Not long ago, all talk of ambitious passenger rail plans for Ohio was pretty much limited to a few stalwart dreamers. The state's voters rejected a train proposal decades ago, and that pretty much settled things for the pragmatic classes in Columbus.

So that statement in Gov. Strickland's speech Wednesday was big. No longer a dream, passenger rail service is now a government policy.

And the good news for train fans is not limited to that. Just last week, the Ohio Department of Transportation got a new director, and she's big into trains. Jolene Molitoris has been the second-ranking person at ODOT, meanwhile serving as the chair of the Ohio Rail Development Commission. That commission was created by the state in 1994 "to plan, promote and implement the improved movement of goods and people faster and safer on a rail transportation network connecting Ohio to the nation and the world."

Before she was at ODOT, Ms. Molitoris was in charge of the Federal Railroad Administration, which regulates rail safety, among other things.

Nor does the good news stop there. The Obama administration is seen as friendly to the idea of expanded rail service, whereas insiders say the Bush administration was bigger into buses. The recent effort of the city of Columbus to get an intra-city rail project in line for federal funds resulted in part from the perception of greater friendliness in Washington, even absent a federal stimulus package.

The federal government will be crucial in whatever happens on the "3-C" corridor the governor mentioned.

The good news about rail service is good news for Dayton, which is ideally situated to benefit. The 3-C project would not do much for most other cities of similar size. Toledo, for example, and Youngstown are likely to see the governor's plan as just another project benefiting the big cities.

But the 3-C line is likely to go through Dayton, because the plans are to build the service along already existing train lines. Old lines connect Dayton and Springfield to Cincinnati and Columbus. Otherwise, some people might push for service up Interstate 71 from Cincinnati to Columbus, a more direct route than through Dayton.

Rail transportation is expensive to build and operate. Skeptics have long insisted that a 3-C corridor wouldn't make enough money to pay operational expenses, much less capital expenses. But times are changing.

Gas prices are unpredictable at best. People are more aware of environmental issues. Families are wondering how many vehicles they'll be able to afford in the future. More and more people live between the major cities.

Meanwhile, the construction of trains looms as a possible source of jobs.

A dramatic recession might seem like an odd time for a society to be moving ahead in a realm that was considered too expensive when times were much better. But the recession is causing the president to for more federal spending as a stimulus.

Passenger trains have proved useful in the most densely populated parts of the country, particularly the two coasts. Ohio is sort of the next step downward in density: it's not the Washington-Boston axis, but it's not Montana, either. It could be the next place.
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