All Aboard Ohio played big role in rail compromise

[irishbobcat]

Ohio faces competition for federal rail money
March 31, 2009

By Matt Leingang
Associated Press

COLUMBUS — Ohio has the go-ahead to seek federal stimulus money to restore passenger rail service among its major cities. Now comes the hard part.

The rail plan, perhaps the marquee project in a transportation bill expected to pass the state Legislature on Wednesday, is likely to face stiff competition from states that already have well-developed rail systems and could put the money toward trains that travel more than 100 mph.

The Federal Railroad Administration is to give Congress a plan by April 18 that outlines its criteria for spending $8 billion in stimulus money for rail projects.

Fourteen states already pay Amtrak to operate passenger routes. Ohio isn't one of them.

"If Ohio is serious about funding train service, we'd certainly like to see it get some stimulus money," said Ross Capon, president of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group for riders.

Ohio is waiting for Amtrak to complete a study by August on what it would take to run 79-mph trains along existing freight tracks connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. Private passenger train service along the 260-mile route ended in 1971.

Gov. Ted Strickland has estimated Ohio would need $250 million in stimulus money to begin Amtrak operations on the route by the end of 2010, with the state picking up an annual $10 million operating cost.

The project would lay the foundation for higher-speed trains by 2016, said Don Damron, a planner with the Ohio Rail Development Commission, an independent agency within the state Department of Transportation.

To press the issue, ODOT Director Jolene Molitoris was to testify Wednesday in front of a House subcommittee studying high-speed rail. Molitoris served as head of the Federal Railroad Administration under President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

"She's committed to rail, and she knows how things work in Washington," said Ken Prendergast, executive director of All Aboard Ohio, a nonprofit group promoting passenger rail in the state.

While no state has yet applied for rail-designated stimulus money, those with existing rail programs are speaking up.

Illinois wants $500 million to upgrade Amtrak's Chicago-to-St. Louis passenger service so trains can zoom at up to 110 mph.

New York Gov. David Paterson wants stimulus money to upgrade crossings so some trains could go from 79 mph to 110 mph within five years.

And in California, where voters in November approved borrowing $9 billion to begin building a train that can reach 220 mph, the state has outlined $2 billion in rail projects that could be started before Sept. 30, 2012, the deadline for committing the $8 billion.

Reviving passenger rail has a tortured history in Ohio.

In 1982, amid another recession, voters rejected a ballot issue that would have raised the state sales tax 1 percent to build an $8 billion high-speed rail system rivaling the successful systems of Europe and Asia with railcars hitting top speeds of 200 mph.

Since then, the idea of restoring passenger train service has been studied off and on, but never with the availability of federal funds to get the idea off the planning boards.

"All of a sudden, the money is real, and it's out there. We don't want to miss the opportunity," said Stu Nicholson, spokesman with the state rail commission.

[jay]

More good news for Youngstown

From a recent All ABoard Ohio news release

Largely unnoticed by the public in last week's stimulus announcement by the Ohio Department of Transportation was a $7 million allocation for developing the Ohio Hub passenger and freight rail system. That amount will be used by Ohio Rail Development Commission to conduct Programmatic Environmental Impact Studies of four corridors; making them eligible for federal high-speed rail funds:

Cleveland - Cincinnati
Cleveland - Pittsburgh
Cleveland - Toledo
Toledo - Columbus

The Cleveland - Pittsburgh route would be through Youngstown.

[jay]

During the Youngstown City Council meeting on Monday, council passed a resolution urging ODOT & Amtrak to request $30 million from the Federal Stimulus for Cleveland-Youngstown-Pittsburgh passenger rail capital improvements.

[irishbobcat]

It would be DOA.....dead on arrival......


still may be a dead issue....at least the first phase for Youngstown....

Dennis Spisak

[Mary_Krupa]

Dennis:  I'm not sure of the significance of this super-majority proposal. If that weren't in the state budget bill, what would happen?

[irishbobcat]

All Aboard Ohio played big role in rail compromise

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 31, 2009
Contact:
Ken Prendergast
All Aboard Ohio Executive Director
(216) 288-4883
kenprendergast@ allaboardohio. org

Today the Ohio General Assembly is expected to pass a two-year budget for the Ohio Department of Transportation which includes a compromise for passenger rail suggested last week by All Aboard Ohio, the Ohio Environmental Council and the Ohio Sierra Club. The compromise calls for a super-majority approval of the State Controlling Board for capital expenditures and requires the General Assembly's consent before committing operating funding to rail services.

"The budget bill will allow ODOT to submit a serious and competitive application to the U.S. Department of Transportation for passenger rail funding from the federal stimulus, including for startup of Cleveland – Columbus – Dayton – Cincinnati (3-C) Corridor rail service," said Ken Prendergast, executive director of All Aboard Ohio.

The Ohio House of Representatives version of the ODOT budget bill would have required only State Controlling Board approval to release funds for passenger rail; the Ohio Senate version required any decision to spend on rail to go back to the General Assembly. Both versions gave ODOT the go-ahead to seek stimulus funds for passenger rail.

This compromise follows existing Ohio law, namely the Ohio Rail Development Commission's enabling legislation, in approving passenger rail projects. In Ohio Revised Code Section 4981.10, the ORDC is required to get a super-majority vote (5 of 7 votes) from the State Controlling Board before the ORDC may use any funds to acquire any property for rail services. Because the Controlling Board is controlled 4-3 by the Democrats, this compromise would assure bipartisan support is necessary before any federal funds could be spent on the acquisition of property – including locomotives and passenger rail cars – for passenger rail.

A second part to the compromise again follows ORDC's enabling legislation. ORC Sec. 4981.02 (G) says "all public funds acquired by the commission shall be used for developing, implementing, and regulating rail service and not for operating rail service unless the General Assembly specifically approves the expenditure of funds for operating rail service."

Studies show that public investments in the 3-C Corridor will be used to create a 21st-century rail corridor for passenger and freight service that is safer, more efficient and better positioned for economic growth. Additionally, federal law requires that, by 2015, all rail lines that host hazardous shipments or passenger services must be equipped with Positive Train Control. PTC is an interactive signal system which automatically applies a train's brakes if a train exceeds speed limits or a caution or stop signal is ignored.

Remaining 3-C expenditures will likely be used to create transportation centers in the hearts of existing towns and cities to integrate railroad, long-distance bus, local bus, light-rail/streetca r, taxi, car sharing, car and bike rental services.

Because these expenditures will have multiple beneficiaries, the rail service poses "zero risk" to Ohio's taxpayers, Prendergast said.

See All Aboard Ohio's rail expenditures map:
http://members. cox.net/ohiohsr/ 3-c%20corridor+ amtrakexisting01 m.jpg

Furthermore, Ohioans may save more money by taking the train than it would cost the state to subsidize it. In an analysis, All Aboard Ohio found that every state which financially supports Amtrak service saved travelers money over other modes of travel in 2008, ranging from $1.5 million per year in Oklahoma and Texas, to $147.6 million annually in California.

In 10 of 14 states that sponsor Amtrak service, travelers' savings were larger than the state subsidies provided. For example, travelers using Amtrak trains in Washington saved an average of $1.30 for every $1 of state subsidy. In North Carolina, travelers saved $5.90 for every $1 of state subsidy to Amtrak. Only one of the 14 Amtrak-sponsoring states, New York, has more population density than Ohio.

Click on the link for details of All Aboard Ohio's analysis:
http://members. cox.net/ohiohsr/ Travelers% 20savings% 20on%20Amtrak. pdf