Editorial: So, who is going to ride the train?

The Lima region has a rich history with locomotives, so understandably, there was disappointment by some area residents when the city was left off the Obama administration plan to bring high-speed rail to Ohio.

The rejection, however, will not stop Mayor David Berger from looking for new ways to make Lima part of the program. He has never been one to give up on a project that he truly believes will help the city, so don’t look for Berger to quit now.

But as it stands, the $400 million federal gift card can only be used to link Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. It is all supposed to happen in two to three years.

We remain unsold on the idea of high speed rail, even more so now. Despite all the hoopla, a fundamental question has yet to be answered:

Who is going to ride the train?

A story Saturday in The Columbus Dispatch raised more doubts about potential users. Among the points raised:

• The maximum speed for the trains will be 79 mph — which is not that much faster than many people already drive on an interstate highway. Also, when you figure in the stops, the trains will average 39 mph along the entire route.

• A business traveler hoping to take a train from Columbus to Cleveland would end up spending six hours on the train, and would have less than six hours to do business in Cleveland. The train would leave  Columbus at 6:32 a.m. The last train home from Cleveland would leave at 3:30 p.m.

• Because of scheduling, sports fans can forget about using the train, unless they have a place to stay overnight. “You can’t use it for an Indians game, you can’t use it for a Browns game,” Matt Mayer, president of the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, told The Dispatch.

The Dispatch pointed out trains would depart the Greater Columbus Convention Center six times a day between 6:32 a.m. and 3:32 p.m. In addition to Columbus, the trains would stop at two sites in Cleveland, Dayton, the Cincinnati suburb of Sharonville and Cincinnati itself.

Fares are expected to be $18 to $25 for a one-way ticket between Columbus and Cleveland or Cincinnati. That may be reasonable if you are traveling by yourself. However, a family of four would be looking at paying $200 to get from Columbus to Cleveland and back. Then there is cab fare once you get off the train and make your way to your destination point. It keeps adding up.

Suddenly, a car doesn’t look so bad.

Amtrak would like you to believe that nearly 500,000 people will ride the trains in Ohio each year, based on its experience in states with a population similar to Ohio’s. It predicts that number would nearly triple if Ohio advanced to true high-speed rail with top speeds of 110 mph. But don’t buy those numbers from a rail service that already has proven to be a leech that sucks away government funds. It is not surprising that Amtrak’s numbers are being called inflated by James E. Moore, chairman of Industrial Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California.

We believe only a small number of travelers will find the trains useful. Given that, the trains will run half-filled at best. Then it is only a matter of time before Ohio taxpayers are told the $17 million annual subsidy isn’t enough and more tax dollars are needed.

That is Uncle Sam’s favorite song and dance.

Unfortunately, President Obama is already walking Ohioans to the middle of the dance floor. Too bad Ohio won’t be sitting this one out.