With very little fanfare, the State of Ohio has officially “raised its hand” to express interest in expanding passenger rail in Ohio.
Although still falling far short of a statement of support, comments released last week by Governor Mike DeWine’s office – followed by actual communication between state officials at the Ohio Rail Development Commission and Amtrak – are enough to keep the ball rolling on plans to establish service along the 3C+D corridor (linking Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland), and to improve service elsewhere in the state.
Stu Nicholson, Executive Director of the pro-train advocacy group All Aboard Ohio, said that Amtrak officials have confirmed to him that the necessary collaboration is happening and that the next step is to produce a more detailed report looking at both construction and operation costs.
That report will take between eight and 12 months to produce, at which time the state would probably need to step forward with a more concrete commitment to moving forward with the improvements.
“That’s going to be the next big decision point, whether it’s Governor DeWine, or if Nan Whaley is elected governor,” Nicholson said. “A year from now, we’ll know what it costs and what the eventual state match may be, and it [will be] time for us to ultimately raise our hand again and say ‘alright, this is a go, we’re gonna pursue this, we’re going to actually put some skin in the game.'”
About $66 billion in federal funding has been allocated to Amtrak expansion nationally via the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed into law by President Joe Biden last fall. That money would cover the cost of establishing service along the 3C+D corridor, and would also cover the full operating costs of the new line for the first six years of its operation.
Nicholson said that’s what makes the current situation distinct from what happened 12 years ago, when a plan to expand passenger rail service in the state was scuttled by Governor John Kasich – he turned down federal money that had been requested for the project by his predecessor, Ted Strickland.
“The big difference is the amount of money that’s on the table at the national level,” he said. “I mean, 12 years ago, it was the State of Ohio going to the Federal Railroad Administration, saying, ‘hey, please give us this grant money so we can get passenger rail started,’ this time around, it’s Amtrak…coming to us, saying, ‘hey, we want to build a railroad in your state.'”
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