Youngstown Passenger Train Meeting - Thurs. Ap. 21

[Nathan Pavalko]

Like I said, it is a good sounding idea, but may not happen. I don't seem to understand kittne, why you're so negative on some issues. It's great to be passionate, but you come off as irate sometimes.

[kitten44505]

Universities?

I have absolutely nothing against universities, but even if every student at all three universities were to ride a high speed train back and forth every day, the train would run in the RED ... get it ... the RED.

Amtrak can not show a real profit in the New England area and look at how many huge universities are located there.

Next, it would take years to build a high speed rail road. Those high speed trains can not run on conventional tracks.
You're going to have to buy land...obtain right of ways...build new bridges...lay all new track...get right of ways through every town that the train would go through.

Then there is the little matter of raising the capitol to operate the system, or do you think that you can force the tax payers to shell out more money?

Sell stock? Before you can sell stock you have to have a system up and running. We're not back in the 1800's when rail road men could sell stock even before they had anything up and running.

Notice also, there would be no guarintee that such a train would even run through Youngstown... "potentially includes Youngstown".

As I said, IF [underscore IF] a high speed train was viable, it would already be in operation, since as stated, the idea goes back to the mid-1980's when the state had more money to play with than it does today.

If as much energy was spent in trying to fix up the corrodores leading into Youngstown as are spent on pipe dreams, maby we could get somewhere.

We couldn't even support the Greyhound Bus Line ... Amtrak stopped it's run's through Youngstown ... our airport has no commercial flights. So how could we support a multi-billion dollar high speed rail system?

Use Conrail right-of-ways? You'd never get it. That's why what trains that were coming through here were in the very late hours of the night and early morning.

[Nathan Pavalko]

The plan sounds good in theory, but will it happen? I think it will, because the area has one thing it didn't 20 years ago; a partnership with other universities. YSU, KSU, CSU and other schools in N.E Ohio are sharing the requirements that a student needs in order to attain a B. A in Creative Writting. In the high speed train system was in place it would be easier for students to get from Youngstown to Cleveland. Also, at least on a temporary basis, the train system would bring in more students to the respective universities. Again, the plan sounds great, but will it happen?

[kitten44505]

There is absolutely nothing new about this plan. It started back in the mid-1980's, and didn't fly then in spite of the fact that it had the support of some of the most powerful state legislators including Harry Meshel.

Where would the billions of dollars come from to build such a system? I said billions with a B.

Does anyone have the foggyest idea about just how much a modern high speed train - just one - would cost?

It would have to come out of the gate making a profit, and keep making a profit for the next hundred years.

Where's the demand for a 110 MPH train system? Give us a complete breakdown carved in stone. There just isn't any.

We'll have 5 different airlines with daily flights out of our airport before ohio has a high speed rail system.

If it is doable, why wasn't it built twenty years ago when it was first proposed. Even then Amtrak was having big problems.

[jay]

The City of Youngstown and Eastgate Council of Governments will hold a public meeting about passenger rail service stopping in Youngstown.  The meeting is scheduled for

Thursday, April 21, 2005
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

1st Flood Conference Room
Oak Hill Renaissance Place
(former South Side Hospital Building)
345 Oak Hill Avenue
Youngstown, Ohio

The featured speaker will be James E. Seney, Executive Director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC), who will present the Ohio Rail Hub Plan.  ORDC has developed this plan as a strategy for improving freight rail operations, preserving rail right of way, and introducing competitive passenger rail service in Ohio.

The Ohio Rail Hub Plan calls for an 860-mile network of up to 110-mph passenger trains in a system that growns from Ohio's "3-C" corridor (Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati) and potentially includes Youngstown.  This network will establish connections with other destination cities such as Chicago, Toronto, Detroit, Pittsburgh and New York.[/size][/b]