Passenger Trains From Cleveland To Cincinnati

[AllanY2525]

I would like the new administration to do a feasibility study for the possibility
of a railroad version of the "National Highway" concept.

That is, a national-level commuter rail rout that runs the entire length of
the country from East to West.  It could be routed through the areas where
there is the most demand/ridership, and local/regional rail systems could tie into
it where it passes through (or close enough TO) their area - kind of like exits
and on-ramps to and from a major freeway.

Surely, a commuter rail line that runs from the East Coast all the way to the
West Coast would get decent ridership.  In the summer months, it would be
an alternative means of long-distance travel when gasonline prices are at
their worst.  In the winter, it would be a pleasant alternative to having to
navigate snow and ice-covered roads and freeways.

[Towntalk]

Now this is something I can hang my hat on. All aboard!

If our Congressman (Tim Ryan) keeps his seat on the Appropriations Committee in the 111th Congress he will be in a position to help.

It would only be one stop a day round trip, but that would be a start and could lead to better things.

[jay]

Cleveland-Cincinnati passenger rail service plan gets boost from Congress
Passenger rail service from Cleveland to Cincinnati could be up and running by 2010 if the state receives a $100 million grant.
Posted by Karen Farkas/Plain Dealer Reporter December 04, 2008 23:15PM
Categories: Real Time News
Associated Press

Passenger rail service from Cleveland to Cincinnati could be a reality by 2010 if the state gets $100 million in proposed infrastructure stimulus money.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission also intends to apply next year for federal matching grants from a passenger rail bill passed by Congress this fall.

"I'm cautiously ecstatic," said Stu Nicholson, spokesman for the commission, who envisions two trains making a round trip each day. "The money is the game changer. It changed the whole dynamic."

The commission, an independent agency within the Ohio Department of Transportation, has long advocated the 3-C Corridor between Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. It also advocates the more ambitious and expensive Ohio Hub, a high-speed rail system on seven corridors in the state. Some $200 million is being sought to design and plan the high-speed network.

The state would pay Amtrak to operate the passenger service between Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati on rail owned by Norfolk Southern and CSX. The service would connect to other Amtrak routes through Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus has not had passenger rail service for 30 years, Nicholson said.

"The Amtrak planning staff told us that the corridor is probably the best underdeveloped passenger rail corridor in the U.S.," he said.

The $100 million would be used to purchase two trains, each of which would have a locomotive and three or four passenger cars. Each train, traveling at a maximum of 79 miles per hour, would run one round trip a day.

Ohioans support passenger rail and the freight companies that own the rails are on board, Nicholson said. But nothing could go forward without money -- and until now none was available.

President-elect Barack Obama has proposed an economic stimulus package that would immediately make $25 billion available for infrastructure projects across the country. He also wants to spend $60 billion over 10 years to create a "National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank" to fund transportation projects.

Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have said the stimulus package will be a top priority in 2009. Pelosi said she hopes to have a bill ready when Congress comes into session next year.

"The infrastructure issue is not a partisan issue," Pelosi said at a news conference this week. "It's going to be about innovation and about the future, about creating the jobs of the 21st century."

Gov. Ted Strickland wants to make sure the state gets its share of money. At the governor's request, ODOT Director James Beasley sent a letter last month to Ohio's congressional delegation outlining $1.7 billion in transportation projects that could be under way by next March.

They are "shovel-ready" and would create thousands of new jobs, said Scott Varner, ODOT deputy director of communications.

Among the requests were $100 million for the passenger rail system, which ODOT supports, but has not been able to fund, Varner said, and the $200 million for the high-speed rail network.

The service would probably not be self-sustaining and would require state subsidies, Nicholson said.

The route will be determined after Amtrak and the commission complete a ridership study to choose train stops between the three cities. That will be under way in a few weeks.

The high-speed Ohio Hub plan includes more than 1,200 miles of track and 46 stations. The seven corridors would connect to planned or existing networks in neighboring states and southern Ontario. It would take eight to 10 years to build and cost $5 billion, Nicholson said.

Once the $1.9 billion under the passenger rail bill are appropriated by Congress next year, Ohio will apply for grants for high-speed rail and the corridor, he said. The state would have to provide 20 percent.

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