Picking up steam

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Picking up steam
Officials try to bring rail service back to the Valley

By RON SELAK JR. / Tribune Chronicle POSTED: July 12, 2009 Save | Print | Email | Read comments | Post a comment
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Article Photos
These railroad tracks that cross Niles Carver Road near McKees Lane in Niles are part of a corridor that officials hope one day will hold passenger service connecting Cleveland to Pittsburgh with stops in Warren and Youngstown. The Cleveland / Pittsburgh corridor is part of a larger passenger rail service proposal that will link Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
The plan to connect Ohio's three largest cities by passenger rail could blossom into providing Ohioans the ability to travel to the four corners of the state and beyond, officials backing the plan say.

Known as the Three C corridor, linking Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, is going to cost $250 million to $400 million to complete, and it would be considered the backbone of a system that might have connections to Warren and Youngstown.

''This is the spine, this is where it needs to grow from,'' said Stu Nicholson, spokesman for the Ohio Rail Development Commission.

''This is not being done with the intention of being the end all, then we'll walk away and pat ourselves on the back,'' Nicholson said. ''This is the seed of better, faster, more frequent trains in other corridors as well.''

Ohio would start with trains that have a maximum speed of about 80 mph and then over time upgrade the system with trains that can reach speeds as high as 110 mph.

The trains would run in the same corridors or land where tracks already sit.

''Ohio has been blessed with rail corridors,'' Nicholson said, which in some cases run five tracks wide.

''Even though Ohio has lost a lot of that trackage over the years, much of the land is still there,'' he said.

One of those proposed corridors is the Cleveland-to-Pittsburgh connection, with stops in Warren and Youngstown.

It's being championed by Ohio leaders as well as local representatives in Washington, D.C., who say it will help develop northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania into a technology stronghold and be a boon for economic development.

U.S. Reps. Timothy J. Ryan, D-Niles, and Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, in western Pennsylvania, have been working to get the link noticed by those developing the plan.

''They really see a vision for how Pittsburgh and Cleveland and points in between can come together and forge partnerships to enhance economic development,'' said Tess Mullen, spokeswoman for Altmire. ''The two have talked a lot of the idea of a technology belt, a region for innovation. Creating that rail corridor is part of that region.''

The Cleveland-Pittsburgh connection is among four routes in line for an environmental review, but whether the path will travel through Warren / Youngstown or Alliance / Salem is still to be determined. The rail commission has both routes listed as alternate alignments.

The review, which will determine how the line would impact property, buildings and neighborhoods and provide ridership and revenue estimates along the corridor, will ultimately show the best, most feasible route. It should take about two years to complete all the reviews, Nicholson said.

''It's way too early to say this route is better than another route,'' Nicholson said.

Jay Williams and Michael J. O'Brien, mayors of Youngstown and Warren, agree the rail would be an economic development boost to the Mahoning Valley. Other benefits, they say, include opening the region to more cultural and recreation opportunities and adding to the area's already flush transportation system.

Williams said it would be impractical to establish the corridor without stops in Youngstown and Warren.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Ohio Department of Transportation director Jolene Molitoris last month lobbied officials in Washington for the money needed to build the track, saying if Ohio is awarded the $250 to $400 million in stimulus package dollars, trains could be running by 2011.

But Nicholson and Ken Prendergast, director of All Aboard Ohio, admit Ohio lags behind other midwest states which already have invested millions and have trains running.

''Ohio is just really starting to get into the ballgame,'' Prendergast said.

But what bodes well for the Buckeye State is recent news that the midwest region, which has Chicago as its rail transportation hub, is at the front of the line in getting a share of $8 billion in stimulus package dollars.

The other is a system in California.

''The fact that you've got a lot of attention being paid to the Chicago hub is a good thing for Ohio,'' said Nicholson, adding two routes from the Windy City have direct impacts on Ohio.

Chicago already has routes to Toledo and then Cleveland. A second route connects Chicago to Indianapolis to Cincinnati.

Nicholson said that although most of the early work would be in the Illinois-area, the recognition received by the midwest ''puts us on the map and it also shows that what we are planning here in Ohio connects well with it.''

As for now, the results of an Amtrak study on the Three C corridor's projected revenue, ridership, fairs and what infrastructure improvements are needed is due to be complete next month.

A concurrent study of freight capacity along the line will show freight train traffic in the corridor and identify ''choke points and bottlenecks,'' Nicholson said.

''We want to enable really good passenger rail service to happen and increase capacity and fluidity among the freight traffic,'' he said.

Ohio met last week's deadline to pre-apply for the stimulus funding and is now waiting on the results of the Amtrak and freight studies before making the actual application deadline, which is early October, Nicholson said.

States are being told word on whether their applications are approved would be made by February 2010. The stimulus money would be used for capital costs anything from signals to laying new track.

''If all the stars are in alignment, we could have the first train rolling in 2011,'' Nicholson said.

rselak@tribtoday.com