I was doing some very basic research about the cost of light rail so I could determine what the approximate cost of rail between CVG and downtown Cincinnati. I understand that to get an accurate approximation of costs a full study has to be done, but I am more interested in what you all think about this and any large flaws in the plan.

 

I have attached a quick spreadsheet I created (in pdf form) about the possible construction and operation costs of light rail. I assumed a 14 mile track each way. I don't know how the construction would be funded, but the operation costs seem to have a fairly simple solution.

 

My idea would be to charge each customer of the CVG airport $1 on their plane ticket. In return they get free rides on the system into or out of downtown Cincinnati on the day of their flight. There could be stops in Fort Mitchell, Fort Wright, and Covington along the way. As CVG stands, they currently have about 8,000,000 passengers every year. With a 20% cost overrun for my calculations, it would cost roughly $6 Million to operate every year, allowing the system to make any improvements or help start extensions in the future. I understand that the airport has been losing customers rapidly in the last few years so perhaps 8,000,000 customers isn't a very stable number (or have they hit rock bottom?). Also, I know that CVG is one of the most expensive airports as is, so it would increase those rates. Have any other cities attempted a similar idea? The main goal is to have a rail system in addition to the streetcar that could help turn the people of Cincinnati (region) around and start embracing rail transportation.

 

Personally, I think that the construction costs seem rather high when compared to MetroMoves. Obviously inflation is a possible cuase of this difference, but MetroMoves was expected to cost $4.2 billion and was a very expansive system. Maybe it is because many lines share tracks for a portion of the route, so they share the cost of construction. Anyway let me know what you all think.

8,000,000 was the peak number back in the golden age of 2004.  That is the number they sold terminal vendors on when they forced them all to remodel back then.  I have no idea what it is now, but I can't imagine it is over 2,000,000.

According to the CVG website, they moved 7.9 million through the airport in 2010. It was 22 million in 2005.  I wonder what is the percentage change in connecting vs. origin & destination traffic? 

At the conceptual cost stage, 30 percent is typically added for contingencies. For a back-of-the-envelope calculation, you should add AT LEAST 30 percent. 20 percent is much too low.

 

BTW, welcome to the forum, ryanlammi.

Im not sure how metro moves would have paid for the airport connection, since it was only voted on in Hamilton county. Further more i can't see how a county(Boone) of 100,000 can pay for it Even Kenton county with it's population of 150,000.

 

I am impressed that you are looking at long-term operating costs.

 

60% of transit use is from home to work, 30% is from home to shopping, and 10% is everything else. There would probably be a good number of commuters who take the train to their jobs at the airport. The number of people taking light rail to a flight might be comparatively small. Also, if there are stops in downtown Cincinnati, Covington, Ft. Mitchell and Ft. Wright, then a good percentage of the expected ridership probably won't go to the airport at all.

 

Finally, airports make money on parking revenue. Any potential riders that take the train instead of driving might actually cost the airport money if the ticket tax is only a dollar.

Finally, airports make money on parking revenue. Any potential riders that take the train instead of driving might actually cost the airport money if the ticket tax is only a dollar.

 

Yeah I guess I didn't really think about the effect it would have on the parking revenue for the airport. I think this would encourage people to use CVG instead of Dayton, but it probably wouldn't be enough of a draw for a lot of people to make it a positive impact on CVG financially.