KJP

Along with a map:

Here's a crazy idea. If Brightline wants to serve Chicago-Fort Wayne-Lima-Columbus, they could lease/buy the rights of way from their owners. In the case of the longest single segment, the 220 miles from Gary, IN to Dunkirk, OH is owned by the Chicago, Ft. Wayne & Eastern (CFE). Brightline could position itself to serve three busy travel corridors if it went a little farther, possibly buying the shares of CFE for about $200 million based how much CFE's parent Genesee & Wyoming sold for in 2019. That would give it a route from Gary to Crestline, OH. Brightline could give G&W trackage rights. Getting to Crestline gets Brightline to the 3C&D corridor. So Brightline buys.... + CFE corporate -- Gary, IN-Crestline, OH (270 miles) + CSX Scottslawn Sub -- Dunkirk, OH-Columbus (71 miles) + CSX Columbus Line Sub -- Galion-Columbus (60 miles) + Right of way alongside CSX Greenwich Sub -- Crestline-Berea (63 miles) + Right of way alongside NS Chicago Line -- Berea-Hopkins Airport (3 miles) + Vacant double-track right of way alongside CN's IC line -- Kensington, IL-Chicago (13 miles) Brightline leases.... South Shore Line -- Gary-Kensington (16 miles) There will have to be major investments to these lines. The Chicago-Kensington section is probably a $750 million project right there but it gets you a 125 mph already grade-separated route into central Chicago. That doesn't include a Chicago station which I would put on the St. Charles Air Line between Clark and State with stations added to CTA Orange/Green line and Metra's LaSalle Street Station access. This station location will allow expansions to O'Hare Airport, Milwaukee and even St. Louis. To avoid having to double-track the entire CFE line, I would combine off-peak Cleveland-Chicago and Columbus-Chicago trains at Dunkirk. Sections of double-track would still have to be built based on proposed schedule patterns. The Crestline-Cleveland line will be expensive. It will have to be double-tracked and since it is new, I would grade-separate the entire 63-mile route. That's probably a $3 billion project. But it gets you a 125-mph route with diesel power. South of Galion to Columbus, trains can cruise on the upgraded former CSX line at 110 mph, allowing a Cleveland-Columbus trip time of about 85-90 minutes and a Cleveland-Chicago trip time of about four hours. The crazy thing is that Hopkins-Crestline-Chicago is 348 miles while the current Amtrak route is 341 miles downtown-downtown.

Oldie but a goodie. Came out shortly after Lebron's return. Extremely well done...

Uh, that was actually the "second look" at AJ Rocco's. 😜 https://neo-trans.blog/2024/04/25/downtowns-new-aj-roccos-reopening-in-may/

Bridgeworks eyes late-summer groundbreaking By Ken Prendergast / May 7, 2024 A representative of a development partnership told the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) yesterday that the long-awaited Bridgeworks development in Cleveland’s Ohio City’s neighborhood could “hopefully” see a groundbreaking ceremony by late summer. But there are still a few more hurdles to clear before that happens, including an appearance before the city’s Landmarks Commission in the coming weeks. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/05/07/bridgeworks-eyes-late-summer-groundbreaking/

Cleveland: a target of rail competitors? By Ken Prendergast / May 6, 2024 Last week, two things happened in the rail world that are probably related. They have been brewing in the background for a while, but they finally appeared in public almost simultaneously. Federal corporation Amtrak and private-sector company Brightline showed their hands that they may compete for Ohio passenger rail expansions and real estate developments. And Cleveland may end up the winner. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/05/06/cleveland-a-target-of-rail-competitors/

That's brutal!

Finally. Library Lofts has topped out.

No wonder why Republicans hate government. Because it can be used to hurt the economy and blame it on their political opponents. Oh wait...

Growing industry moving to Cleveland By Ken Prendergast / May 2, 2024 Along a Cleveland street known historically for dumping everything from trash to murder victims, a long-neglected property is about to gain something almost priceless — a future. On Train Avenue in the city’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood, a truck terminal turned junk yard, infested with weeds, littered with abandoned vehicles and tagged with graffiti, is due to be replaced by a growing glass-glazing business and nearly 20 jobs from the suburbs. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/05/02/growing-industry-moving-to-cleveland/

Me too. I stayed up for the whole game. It was worth it!

SoFi field is actually 70 feet underground??

All of the blue lines are state-sponsored trains. Note the voids on this map. Either Iowa and Ohio have no cities or they have no state support for trains. Iowa has 3.2 million people -- the same population as the Cleveland-Akron-Canton consolidated metro area....

I hope they're replacing the tracks on new ballasted bridge decks rather than bolting new tracks directly to the old decks. The reason is these tracks have to be shifted in order to accommodate RTA's new trains. You can do that more easily when they're "floating" on stones.

Since the eastbound Empire Builder (scheduled to depart St. Paul at 8:50 a.m.) regularly runs 1-5 hours late, the Builder and the Borealis are going to frequently be playing train tag all the way to Chicago. EDIT: The WB schedule makes more sense, with the Borealis departing Chicago at 11:05 a.m. and the Builder at 4:55 p.m.

Billionaires never spend their own money. And politicians always bow to billionaires.

And all of the Clinic facilities news, Progressive closing offices, GLBC to Avon, Amtrak stuff, GCRTA stuff, and lots of little stuff. We're usually first and always free!

A fellow member of the media was contacted by the Browns. They demanded to know where he got it.

This couldn't have been captured by lawmakers. Their phones were collected and even if one kept a spare phone, this is not a photograph of the video presentation they were shown.

Brook Park stadium rendering confirmed real By Ken Prendergast / May 1, 2024 NEOtrans has secured a copy of a rendering showing the proposed multipurpose domed stadium sought by the owner of the Cleveland Browns football team in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park. NEOtrans has confirmed from two of its best stadium sources that the rendering is real. The sources were upset at whoever leaked the rendering. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/05/01/brook-park-stadium-rendering-confirmed-real/

Good points. Just quoting the last public facility assessment. Interesting that the last one has not been made public.

Wall Street Has Spent Billions Buying Homes. A Crackdown Is Looming. Lawmakers say investors that scooped up hundreds of thousands of houses to rent out are driving up home prices https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/wall-street-has-spent-billions-buying-homes-a-crackdown-is-looming-f85ae5f6?mod=hp_lead_pos1

Browns stadium is 200 meters without obstruction from the onslaught of a Great Lake. And I'm willing to bet that Progressive Field was built more carefully than Browns stadium.

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