Passenger Rail Service For Youngstown (?)

[Towntalk]

What about the old Erie Terminal Building? It was after all a railroad station to begin with, and also what about the Leader building which was the Erie Freight Station to begin with?

[Mary_Krupa]

I'm all for the railroads!!!!!!!!!!

[jay]

The B&O building is now privately owned.  At best, only a fraction of the building was available for use as a passenger station.  That same space has now been converted into offices.

The former location of the Salvation Army Building on Mahoning Avenue has some potential for use in the short term.

[Towntalk]

Question: Has Amtrak actually made any public statement about these plans, and if so, who from Amtrak made it, and where can that statement be found?

I'm all for having rail passanger service, but given Amtrak's past experiences with train service here, and the absence of official documentation from Amtrak, it should be stressed that this is the hope of people not directly related to the railroad, and no indication that they are even considering it.

We also know from past experience that for Amtrak to use CSX trackage would severely limit the number of trains that come through the area which means that new tracks would have to be laid, and is Amtrak in any financial position to make that kind of investment? Would Amtrak make a major capitol investment like that when it would only use that trackage fewer than five times a day?

Is the federal government in any position to fund track laying projects?

Setting aside any and all environmental considerations, there are literally tons of infrastructure that are more pressing than a rail track project to service the Youngstown area given ... highways ... bridges ... dams projects that have been underfunded for years to name three.

[ytowner]

Why do we even talk about wasting our tax dollars on a new train station when we don't even have train service in our area right now? It is like talking about a new terminal at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport when they only have 2 flights a week!

IF we get high speed train service, I'd support a new train station because I doubt the B&O could handle it.

[jay]

Moving the passenger train station is part of the second phase.    The Amtrak train would leave the CSX line in the area of West Avenue and then reconnect to the CSX line near Center Street.

The plan also calls for the acquisition of several other local abandoned rail lines.  The groundwork is being laid for a separate higher speed rail line through Youngstown.

[Rick Rowlands]

There is absolutely no reason for building a new passenger station when the current one is sufficient, unless Amtrak is considering moving their train from the 79 MPH B&O mainline over to the 25 MPH NS Youngstown Secondary, which is the track which runs along the Chevy Center.  A railroad track is not just a railroad track! 

[Defend Youngstown]

Not bad for a "dying" area.

[jay]

The initial portion of this proposal call for work to be done at the existing B&O Station to make it ready for conventional rail service.  At some point in the future, a new Youngstown Passenger Train Station is proposed for the area between the Market Street Bridge and the Chevrolet Centre.

[ForumManager]

wonderful!

[jay]

On Saturday, November 8, All Aboard Ohio is unveiling its Fix-It-First plan for Ohio railroads.  The proposal includes components involving train station improvements and rail line acquisition in Youngstown.