The approval of $500,000 to study the feasibility of passenger train service connecting Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit, as well as other rail options in Ohio, is a welcome step to build on previous studies to determine when – and if – such a route can be created.
The announcement of this money by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) on Dec. 5 owes much to the aggressive lobbying effort by this community and the state of Ohio.
The Corridor Identification and Development Program was included by Congress in the bipartisan infrastructure law.
In November, 2021, President Biden signed that law with its $66 billion for five years of funding for rail expansion, most of it dedicated to passenger rail.
In February, the Northwest Ohio Passenger Rail Association discussed the availability of federal money to study the creation of new and expanded Amtrak routes at their annual luncheon in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza.
An important step in getting that money approved by FRA was a signal that the state of Ohio was on board. That was sent in March with Gov. Mike DeWine’s signing of the state’s $13.5 billion transportation budget which authorized the Ohio Rail Development Authority to explore conventional and high-speed passenger rail service.
In September, at a gathering of rail industry leaders in Toledo, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) warned that Ohio would miss out on rail improvements if it didn’t offer unified plans. Present was Amit Bose, the Federal Railroad Administration’s administrator.
At the time, it was expected that two routes would be studied – a passenger service connecting Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Cleveland and one connecting Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit.
As it turned out, four connections will be studied by the FRA: a Chicago-Fort Wayne-Columbus-Pittsburgh route with stops in Lima and Kenton, and daily service connecting Cincinnati with Chicago and points East.
While some would say that nostalgia is driving the pressure for passenger rail, rather than real demand for train service when car transportation is so cheap and convenient, we say that the future needs to be planned for. Ohio has railroad routes in abundance, and multiple cities that could benefit from convenient mass transit connections.
The amount of money allocated, $500,000 per route, is a relatively modest expense to continue adding data and understanding to the potential of new passenger rail options.
Train travel is a natural for Ohio, and Toledo, which has an outstanding train station. The award of study funding was a response to coordinated support in Ohio.
However, the study must demonstrate convincingly that there will be a market for new passenger rail service. Given a national debt surpassing $33 trillion, and growing by more than a trillion dollars a year, new taxpayer subsidizing of rail service that doesn’t serve a need is spending we can’t afford.
