April 2, 200817 yr ^Heard on WCPN this morning that the GOP members of the legislature are giving the governor static about the bond proposal. If you haven't written your state rep and senator in support of this, now would be a good time.
April 3, 200817 yr I got a response back from the Governor today about the Ohio Hub plan. The letter was VERY brief and pretty much told me how Gov. Strickland thinks Ohio is a great place with potential. That's great, and I agree...but an actual response next time would be appreciated. :-D
April 3, 200817 yr Who would be my Senator? I live (rent) in Oxford, work in Cincinnati, but consider Columbus home. So, uhmmm, who's my Senator in Oxford?
April 3, 200817 yr Click on the link below and type in your zip code-plus four: http://www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/SenateZipSearch.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 3, 200817 yr OK, apparently my senator is Gary Cates and he has his Civil Engineering Degree from Virginia Tech. Is this a good thing or a bad thing, I don't know. On the up side though, he is on the Ways and Means and Economic Development Committee.
April 3, 200817 yr Always good to identify the committees they serve on, so you can frame your letter as it relates to that committee interest. Take a look at the economic impacts of the Ohio Hub (www.ohiohub.com ) and use some of the highlights in your letter.
April 3, 200817 yr It's good to mention some of the economic impact benefits, but the most impactful letter is the one that conveys a personal motivation for writing.... Here's an extreme example: "My arthritic mother who has to care for three adopted toddlers, two of which have serious medical conditions, must drive to Cincinnati to pick me up to take me back home to Columbus for holidays and family get-togethers. My dad is in Iraq fighting for our country, so he can't be around to help her for a couple more years. I'm working minimum-wage jobs in addition to going to the University of Cincinnati to help out the family, so I can't afford a car. There is very poor bus service between Cincinnati and Columbus, and the airline service is way too expensive. I can't afford to rent a car, especially with gas prices so high. So if there was train service between my family's home in Columbus and where I work and go to school in Cincinnati, that would be tremendous! Please do all that you can to help make this transportation service possible. And feel free to use any part of this letter in any testimony you give on the Senate floor as an argument for supporting passenger train funding. Thank you for reading." "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 3, 200817 yr April 3, 2008 Write of Way Ken Prendergast It’s about time that Ohio gets on board this train Proposals to get fast, modern passenger trains between Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati keep coming back. Another try is coming down the track. Is the fourth time the charm for the “3-C” Corridor? Gov. Ted Strickland has asked Amtrak, the nation’s passenger railroad, to work with the Ohio Rail Development Commission to develop a plan to run several daily trains in each direction in Ohio’s busiest corridor. By the middle of 2009, the plan will be presented to the governor and the Ohio General Assembly so they can decide whether and how to fund it. Efforts in 1985, 1995, and 2001 to start train service traveling on existing freight tracks at 79 mph were put forward, but derailed for various reasons. Each time the plan came around again, it got more expensive. The last time, in 2001, the projected cost was $50 million. Competing, ultra-costly bullet-train projects, unfamiliarity with passenger trains, unsupportive governors and legislators all doomed these efforts. So why shouldn’t the fourth time be the charm? There are more things going for the trains now than ever before. Redevelopment activity in central cities where stations are or will be located is stronger than ever, gas prices are inexorably trending upward and an environmental conscience is growing among the populace. Most importantly, for the first time, we have a governor who is leading the charge for rail service. The start-up investment that’s likely needed for 3-C Corridor is a drop in the bucket compared to the $3.8 billion spent by the Ohio Department of Transportation each year. About 98 percent of ODOT’s annual budget is spent on highways, which all but guarantees there will be few or no options to driving. Transportation is not part of the free market — it’s availability relies on government investment. There are thousands of beleaguered travelers — college students, seniors, tourists and corporate travelers — who travel daily in the 3-C Corridor, and have no choice but to drive. Among them are many state officials who travel to conduct the state’s business. Like corporate business travelers, state employees don’t get much work done while driving. Plus, driving costs taxpayers 50 cents per mile, based on Internal Revenue Service data. A typical Amtrak ticket costs half that. Consider the “options” to driving. A round-trip flight between Cleveland and Columbus, with a two-week advance purchase, costs more than $600. For bus travel, Greyhound’s nationwide service cuts in recent years have left many Ohio cities with fewer or no buses. It is impossible to arrive in Cleveland or Columbus by Greyhound bus before 10 a.m. if you depart from either city after 4:30 a.m. Another new issue is freight train traffic. With fuel prices at record highs, rail traffic is also at or near record highs. Amtrak in 2007 carried more travelers than in any single year in its 36-year history. U.S. freight railroads carried more carloads of traffic in 2006 than at any time in the industry’s 170-year history; 2007 was their second-busiest year, according to the Association of American of Railroads. If Amtrak is to offer a time-competitive service in the 3-C Corridor, then its trains can’t be stuck behind freight trains. The investment in additional tracks and bridges for Amtrak trains will also make more fluid the flow of freight trains. Ohio’s economy can’t be sidetracked by congested railroads. Fourteen states already have partnerships with Amtrak to provide passenger train services and to improve and modernize rail infrastructure. If Ohio, the nation’s seventh-most populous state, wants to compete with those 14 states for residents and businesses, then state officials need to provide railroads the means to offer better service to citizens, visitors and shippers. It’s a very different era today than it was just seven years ago when the issue of train service to Ohio’s capital city was last on the state’s agenda. Gasoline at the pump cost just $1.20 per gallon in 2001. The 3-C train plan will be on the state’s table again next year, when gas could be at $4 per gallon. If this time really is the charm, state officials will need to measure the cost of investing in trains against the cost of doing nothing. I’ll wager that, with Ohioans suffering worsening gas pains, officials will recognize that a good way to spell relief is R-A-I-L. ### "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 3, 200817 yr OUTSTANDING!!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: I hope the Governor gets to read this..... not to mention our reps in Washington. Well done! Stu
April 4, 200817 yr Thanks. It was a longer version than my Train of Thought column in the latest issue of Ohio Passenger Rail News. If anyone would like a sample copy of All Aboard Ohio's newsletter, the Ohio Passenger Rail News, provide me with your address at this site's Instant Message. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 4, 200817 yr Greetings. I may not be able to monitor this thread as much as I would like to in the next few weeks, so if anyone has an RTA-related question, please send it to me at [email protected], and I will respond as soon as possible.
April 5, 200817 yr The Ohio Hub Plan got a resolution of support from the Lorain County Community Aliiance today at the annual Lorain County Transportation Day meeting. Both the Hub Plan and Governor Strickland's request to Amtrak to restore passenger rail service in the 3-C got a very good reception from over 75 meeting attendees, which included local government, port authority, economic development and other local officials. Ken Prendergast gave a solid presentation on the West Shore Corridor project as well. Great detail and numbers. Hope he'll post a link to his presentation.
April 5, 200817 yr Damn right you shouldn't! Sorry I couldn't stick around for Noozer's presentation at LCCA. The paragraph factory beckoned me... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 8, 200817 yr Cantagallo wants Ashtabula included in Amtrak plans By SHELLEY TERRY - Staff Writer - [email protected] Ashtabula Star Beacon — ASHTABULA — City Manager Anthony Cantagallo asks Ashtabula County residents to rally behind a proposal that could bring Amtrak rail service to town. Last month, Gov. Ted Strickland asked Amtrak to investigate the potential ridership and start-up costs to restore service to Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. Ashtabula was not on the governor’s list of cities to study, but that didn’t dissuade Cantagallo. Read more at: http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_098230028.html
April 8, 200817 yr ^I'm all for Ashtabula being a part of the hub proposal. Ashtabula is a major satellite town and the various commuter rail studies I'm aware of have Ashtabula as a stop or the terminus for service out of downtown Cleveland. Makes perfect sense to me... Btw, the Ohio Hub proposals I've seen -- including sketchy proposed schedules -- don't seem to include any commuter rail component. Could that change? It would seem to make sense, esp given the proposed Hopkins airport stop on the west, south/west line from North Coast (downtown).
April 8, 200817 yr clvlndr.... the Ohio Hub Study does have a section on commuter rail.... www.ohiohub.com It basically states that commuter rail is looked upon as an excellent feeder system into the Ohio Hub and that the ORDC will be supportive of local efforts at commuter rail.
April 10, 200817 yr I think Ohio Hub if its going to get started must start with commuter rail. I went ahead and sent my thoughts to Akron Metro regarding taking advantage of the rail and trains they have and attempting to use some grants from ORDC to get started with commuter rail service between Akron and Canton serving CAK airport. I mentioned that a grant would be in order because it would save SARTA(Stark County) money by pulling 2 different express bus routes to Summit county. We'll see if I get a response.
April 10, 200817 yr I don't. For practical purposes, Ohio Hub needs to start on a route where it's going to benefit as much of the state's population as possible, serve an Ohio Hub route AND provide a significant benefit to the freight railroads, the state's shippers and consumers. A service between Akron and Canton accomplishes none of these goals. There is also a statutory requirement on the ORDC which says their statewide plan must start with 3-C Corridor (I read the statute to say that only the plan must announce that 3-C Corridor is first, but ORDC staff believes the intent is for 3-C trains to be the first ones running as a result of its statewide planning efforts). If your goal, audidave, is to get an Akron commuter rail route as the first Ohio Hub rail service then that's not a good starting point. It's going to take a significant amount of money to get the Cleveland-Akron-Canton route operational. In 1995, URS Consultants estimated that start-up costs were estimated at $190 million, an annual operating subsidy of about $4.5 million and annual ridership of 3,600 people each weekday (ridership between Akron and Canton was estimated at less than 500 people weekday -- I don't know what the start-up costs were). The 3,600 weekday trips isn't bad but probably wouldn't win FTA funding given the high start-up costs. It would have to be funded by local/state sources, and state sources are committed under political and statutory demands to the 3-C Corridor. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 10, 200817 yr Thanks KJP. I don't feel Ohio Hub needs to go through Akron. To me that would be cost prohibitive based on attempting to add another track alongside Norfolk Southern on the Eastern side of the Cuyahoga Valley going to Cleveland. I see a phased in approach to building commuter rail out of Akron that would eventually reach Cleveland and Medina: I. Service from Akron to new Goodyear HQ to Akron-Canton Airport to Downtown Canton. Need to update 10 crossings in Summit and perhaps 5 crossings in Stark county. (2010)? II. Service from Akron to Kent. This can eliminate some bus service for Parta that comes into Akron. Its a short distance that might only need 1 or 2 gates upgraded. (2011)? III. Service from Akron to Independence. (2012)? IV. Service from Akron to Medina (2013)? This is where I think Akron would be able to hook up with Ohio Hub. For most of the above the rail lines are under control of Metro. They don't own the line to Medina yet. The Metro RTA sales tax just passed adds $18 million a year in new operational funds. Response back from Metro: " We have preserved the railine between Akron and Canton for this purpose. However, in 2004, our local planning agency, AMATS (Akron Metropolitian Area Transportation Study, rejected a recommendation of commuter rail in the Canton-Akron-Cleveland corridor. Without AMATS support, we are not able move forward in developing a rail project using federal funds. The estimated cost for such a project was over $200 million. With both the Federal Transit Administration and ODOT funding projects, it is highly unlikely we would be able to obtain the needed funding for the project." There are new public planning meetings over the next 2 weeks with AMATS. I'll be attending the Twinsburg meeting on April 23.
April 10, 200817 yr ^ What steel-wheel on rail project is winning FTA funding lately? There are some (including in Pittsburgh), but obviously not as many as there were in the 1990s. But Cleveland-Akron-Canton wouldn't have met FTA criteria when the FTA was more rail supportive. Audidave, as I said before, Akron-Canton isn't the best place to start commuter rail. In fact, most routes in/around Akron lack the CBD-based commutes to warrant an investment and annual operating costs for rail. If Akron CBD employment/student population increases substantially in the future, then it's probably worth revisiting. Even cities with downtown employment/student populations as large as those in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati may not be able to support a commuter rail route unless there's an easy-to-implement route with good track conditions and/or light freight rail traffic. Operating commuter rail from Akron to Cleveland via the Cuyahoga Valley was rejected due to the lack of population along the route. You need to see the studies that looked at all this stuff. The Hudson routing shows great promise despite the need for a third main track, and that's where costs and connecting riders can be shared with the Ohio Hub's Cleveland - Youngstown - Pittsburgh route. Fortunately, public agencies and Norfolk Southern are acknowledging that a third main track will be needed there sooner rather than later. The Ohio Turnpike replaced NS's overpass with a three-track bridge, and a new NS overpass of SR82 in Macedonia may be built with the ability to accommodate a third track. More later..... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 10, 200817 yr ^ at first I intended my question to be merely rhetorical, then realized there may actually be some federal funds going towards rail. Thanks for the tip. Commuter rail on-time performance in the DC area (MARC in Maryland and VRE in Virginia) suffers greatly from freight rail traffic. Getting capacity issues sorted out early in the process (whether it's the Ohio Hub or commuter rail) is one of the bigger priorities, I would think.
April 10, 200817 yr You're right I'm not sure Cleveland is worth the effort to link up to at this time. I believe the majority of the $200 million was trying to get a rail route up from Independence to downtown Cleveland. Its been 7+ years to move a dusty towpath North a few miles from Independence it would probably take triple that to get rail rights of ways set up and built. Cleveland is the obvious route to hook up with a commuter connection but if its that big of a challenge there seems to be no reason to start there. Summit County has changed quite a bit since 2004. Akron has 8 housing projects in progress downtown and within 2-3yrs the CBD should be doubled if not tripled. There will also be a massive reinvestment and redevelopment in Spicertown community as part of University Park Alliance and the Knight Foundation. I think a little bit of that was seen today in the news regarding the High Speed Wifi. I'm not sure whats going on in Canton but 6 lanes of I-77 are packed with vehicles. According to 2004 AMATS report, 70-100k cars are flowing between Akron and Canton everyday. The Akron-Canton airport is a major destination of those cars and now has approximately 1.5 million passengers a year. Goodyear HQ has around 3500 employees of which several hundred do come from Stark County that will be working right up against the tracks. An additional $500 million retail/office development alongside the HQ would be perfect for a circulator bus. In the Merriman Valley there is an instant TOD development in waiting: 6000 people within 5 minute walk of the tracks. A large segment of those are students at University of Akron. With $18 million in new operational funds via the sales tax that just passed, I'd say Metro Rail should get rolling.
April 11, 200817 yr At the risk of sounding like Monty Python: "And now for something completely different"..... Some very good passenger rail news from Maine and a rail corridor not all that different from what we have in Ohio. This is a single corridor between Boston and Portland with five trains a day. Think of what we can do in terms of economic development and impact with the Ohio Hub in full operation. Study: Downeaster an economic engine By The Associated Press wire report April 10, 2008 02:59 PM PORTLAND – The Amtrak Downeaster passenger train will generate billions of dollars in economic benefits in Maine and New Hampshire over the coming decades, according to a new study. Read more at: http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/025195.html
April 17, 200817 yr EDITORIAL Our view: Passenger train arrival is long overdue in Ohio By Dayton Daily News Thursday, April 17, 2008 Four-dollar gasoline? All aboooaaarrrrrddd!! The federal government's statement that the price of gas might reach $4 a gallon this summer would be good news for those operating passenger trains in Ohio — if anybody was actually doing that. Find this article at: http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/oh/story/opinions/editorial/2008/04/16/ddn041708trainsxxmg.html
April 18, 200817 yr The editorial (as well as public) support for passenger rail is growing and showing up like I haven't seen in decades: no doubt driven by gasoline prices, airline hassles, etc. But if any of you want to speed the day along when fast and frequent trains are a reality and not just an idea on a thread on urbanohio.com, you should really consider attending the All Aboard Ohio "Legislative Summit" in Columbus: Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Columbus Downtown YWCA Huntington Hall 65 South 4th St. Columbus, OH 43215 Details are at www.allaboardohio.com There is a great list of speakers, but the best part of the day is to visit your State Senator and State Representative and let the Ohio General Assembly know that they need to get off the dime and start directing their efforts at developing more and better options like passenger rail, light rail and streetcars. I plan on attending. I hope I'll see you there.
April 21, 200817 yr Actually, this editorial from the OSU "Lantern" is not as anti-streetcar as the headline would lead one to believe, which means whoever wrote the headline was probably and editor and not the writer. But when you finish, click on the link to the article and read some of the reader comments.... virtually all are pro-passenger rail. Screw streetcars ... we want Amtrak By: Seth Fishman The Lantern (OSU) Posted: 4/18/08 There has been a good amount of buzz generated within the past few months by Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman's interest in a streetcar to be built from downtown up to the Ohio State campus using High Street. The cost, community impact on businesses and whether it is truly needed are open questions to debate, and I am sure this will continue as Coleman's plan starts to take more of a definitive shape. At the moment, the effect it would have on me is little to none, and I think most students would likely agree. Walking from the Short North to campus is not a big deal, and there is always the unsexy COTA #2. Although I do understand that riding the bus is not so great at night or weekends in this area. Read more at: http://www.thelantern.com/media/storage/paper333/news/2008/04/18/Opinion/Screw.Streetcars.We.Want.Amtrak-3335316.shtml
April 26, 200817 yr Intercity rail is what Ohio needs Columbus Dispatch Letter to the Editor Published: Saturday, April 26, 2008 3:17 AM The failure of Skybus should not surprise anyone, since the people involved with the airline had a very poor business plan, which failed for various reasons, including high fuel costs. Gimmicks like $10 tickets stopped working and the airline folded, reflecting the reality that starting a new airline is very difficult, especially today. The problem is that in the hysteria surrounding the start of this airline, city leaders were swept up in the moment and plowed in millions in aid (fortunately, mostly tax breaks instead of real cash). The lure of new jobs and economic development proved irresistible, and officials jumped at the chance to throw money at Skybus. They didn't stop to look at the shaky state of an airline industry whose landscape is littered with the carcasses of countless airlines that crashed on takeoff. We need to be more objective and start to take into account not only the viability of ventures such as Skybus but whether they really meet the needs of the communities they are supposed to serve. Skybus might have allowed us to travel to Florida on the cheap but didn't do anything to help us get to work or travel in Ohio without having to drive. All of their service flew to places that included Florida, New York and the West Coast, where there already is outstanding air service. So Skybus is dead and here we are, still stuck with driving everywhere in Ohio. How nice it would be to hop a fast train in Columbus, sit back and enjoy the ride, get off at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and fly anywhere in the world. That's the service we need, and leaders here should work hard to find ways to put up local money toward the construction of a world-class intermodal hub Downtown for train service. It seems to me we should start thinking about these things, and if the city and others can drop a dime for such a dubious venture as Skybus, they should do the same for passenger-rail service. Take a look at the $600 million in economic activity and 1,000 jobs that were promised within three years. How would that compare with the proposed Ohio Hub 3-C corridor passenger-train service? Leaders in cities that are secondary markets like Columbus, Dayton, Akron, Canton, Youngstown and others in Ohio have to realize that they will never have the level of air service they desire. They must come to grips with that fact and do the next best thing by developing a public-transportation system that allows people to move seamlessly from one mode to another to get where they want to go. That means the future of Columbus and similar-sized cities is more likely to be tied to the development of intercity passenger-rail service than new discount air service. There also should be a massive investment in connecting local rail and bus transit, focusing all those jobs and development Downtown, where it's needed. The streetcar is a start. I hope our officials will help us adapt to changing times by working to give us real intercity and local transportation choices. Cheap airfares are nice, but we need an answer to high gasoline prices that affect everyday living. BILL HUTCHISON President All Aboard Ohio Columbus http://dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2008/04/26/Hutchison__SAT_ART_04-26-08_A11_7JA18OB.html?sid=101
April 26, 200817 yr The weird thing about the letter concerning Skybus was that it was written by a private citizen, but the Dispatch published it as tho it was an official letter from the President of All Aboard Ohio. Curious.
April 29, 200817 yr From the Environmental Law & Policy Center in Chicago: Barack Obama's presidential campaign released a statement on energy policy last Friday which contains the following statement supportive of intercity rail: - Reform Federal Transportation Funding and Invest in Public Transportation: Obama will reevaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account and he will also re-commit federal resources to public mass transportation projects and modern fast, comfortable and convenient intercity rail projects across the country. Obama will work with state and local governments across the country on efforts to create new, effective public transportation systems and modernize our aging urban public transit infrastructure. The entire statement can be found at <http://my.barackobama.com/page/-/HQpress/042508%20Fact%20Sheet%20Gas%20Prices%20FINAL.pdf> .
April 30, 200817 yr Boy are you cynical and lacking in all hope, ForTheLoveOfDayton! All the presidential candidates have platforms and policy statements on various issues, including passenger rail. But Obama says more than Clinton and certainly more than McCain about this issue. In a campaign, I'm not sure what more you can expect from even the greatest candidate. I'm not sure what else to tell ya there, ForTheLoveOfDayton. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 30, 200817 yr I was feeling the same way towards the comments of Obama. It just sounded like he knew that would appease people that are interested in more passenger rail. I keep reading very dodgy comments from him of late. He's mimicked Hillary's platform to campaign as the anti-Hillary. I'm not a huge fan of Hillary but I respect her. I have nothing to go on with Obama. Oh he may support some wise energy proposals and perhaps has an interest in starting up some commuter rail. But he also wants to bomb Pakistan. Hmmm.... Overall, I missed the part where I'm supposed to be impressed by Obama..
April 30, 200817 yr Too bad McCain had problems speaking through the blood as he announced that gas tax holiday, what with his nose cut off to spite his face. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 30, 200817 yr It probably doesn't help that I can't stand Republican fiscal policy (especially in this day and age), but the cut in the gas tax could be the dumbest idea I have ever heard from a presidential candidate. Ever. EDIT: And by the way, Hillary supports this gas tax cut. Obama staunchly opposes it. Even if I disregarded other issues I agree with Obama on, that right there tells me a lot. Oh, yes, Ohio Hub...
May 2, 200817 yr I don't have a problem with having a short term gas tax cut over the summer. However, just let people know that it will slowly be raised thereafter. Which is a sillier thing: reducing gas tax for a short period of time or giving every person $600? Its not like people are expecting gas prices to go down in a year or 2. Its just that gas went up so fast that no one was ready for it. Back to Rail! So since gas tax revenue is tough to get moved over to any kind of rail usage, I propose a vehicle weight tax. A person buying a new vehicle that weighs over a certain weight would pay a small percentage tax on the original sale of the vehicle. over 5000lbs pay a 3% tax over 4000lbs pay a 2% tax over 3000lbs pay a 1% tax People would plan to try to get under a certain weight penalty. The purpose is its senseless for cars to continuously to get bigger in the US. This should limit the American "bigger is better" attitude. The money should be focused on improving commuter rail transportation in Ohio.
May 2, 200817 yr Hmmm.... thought about sending that idea to the 21st Century Transportation Policy Task Force?
May 3, 200817 yr No idea about how to go about that. Feel free to submit the idea to the policy makers. :mrgreen:
May 3, 200817 yr ^just go here: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/21ctptf/ It's pretty easy to do. We all have to be active participants in this conversation ourselves. Don't defer to others what we can and should do ourselves.
May 3, 200817 yr Too bad McCain had problems speaking through the blood as he announced that gas tax holiday, what with his nose cut off to spite his face. Funny!
May 9, 200817 yr Especially since many of the Ohio Hub and Midwest Regional Rail Initiative corridors are eligible as federally designated high speed rail corridors (existing or proposed service). The federally designated corridors touching Ohio that are eligible for federal funding under the above financing initiative are: Cleveland - Cincinnati (via Dayton and Columbus) Cleveland - Chicago (via Toledo and Fort Wayne) Cincinnati - Chicago (via Indianapolis and Lafayette) More could be added with the completion of recent planning activities, including these segments: Toledo - Detroit (via Detroit Metro International Airport) Cleveland - Pittsburgh (via Youngstown) Cleveland - Niagara Falls (via Erie and Buffalo, with extension to Toronto via Hamilton) "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 9, 200817 yr from the NARP Hotline: http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/hotline/more/hotline_552/ House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee leaders held a bipartisan news conference Thursday to announce the introduction of H.R. 6003, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, which includes Amtrak reauthorization provisions, and H.R. 6004, the Rail Infrastructure Development and Expansion Act for the 21st Century (RIDE-21), to provide bonding authority and tax credits for high-speed rail projects. (RIDE-21 had been introduced in previous sessions of Congress.) Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) was joined by Ranking Member John Mica (R-FL), Railroads Subcommittee Chairwoman Corrine Brown (D-FL), Railroads Subcommittee Ranking Member Bill Shuster (R-PA), and subcommittee members Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), and Bruce Braley (D-IA). Oberstar’s House floor speech introducing the two bills is available here (PDF). H.R. 6003 would provide $14.3 billion over five years for passenger rail programs, including $3 billion for Amtrak operations (starting at $525 million for Fiscal 2009 and increasing to $654 million by Fiscal 2013), $1.0285 billion for Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance, and $6.698 billion for Amtrak capital programs and state capital grants (starting at $1.202 billion in Fiscal 2009 and increasing to $1.427 billion in Fiscal 2013). Of the capital funds, 41% would be available to states in Fiscal 2009, declining to 35% by Fiscal 2013. There would also be $1.725 billion ($345 million annually) for Amtrak debt service. $121.814 million would go to Amtrak’s Office of the Inspector General, and $60 million would go to USDOT to move forward with Baltimore tunnel improvements. H.R. 6003 also allows for unspecified grants to alleviate identified chokepoints on existing passenger rail corridors. H.R. 6003 also establishes a competitive state grant process for higher-speed rail corridor projects (at least 110 mph). $350 million would be available for each fiscal year ($1.75 billion total) for a federal match of up to 80 percent. H.R. 6003 also contains a provision that would compel Amtrak to, within nine months of enactment, submit a plan to Congress to restore service along the Sunset Limited route between New Orleans, LA and Sanford, FL. According to the bill text, “In developing the plan, Amtrak shall consult with representatives from the States of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, railroad carriers whose tracks may be used for such service, rail passengers, rail labor, and other entities as appropriate.” $1 million would be allocated for this process. There are many differences between H.R. 6003 and S. 294, the $11.4 billion passenger rail reauthorization bill which passed the Senate last October, which the two houses would have to reconcile in conference committee. The Senate version provides $335 million more for operations, but in chronologically descending amounts, and $386 million less for capital. Besides funding, differences include mechanisms for resolving Amtrak on-time performance issues on freight railroads (the House version contains none), and the extent to which private operators would be allowed to bid on operating passenger service.
May 14, 200817 yr I came across the updated website for the California High Speed Rail project…wow! http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/gallery.aspx Maybe it is just me, but I think visualizations like these could help out immensely in The Ohio Hub outreach efforts. In my opinion, Ohioans have no grasp on what high speed rail looks like or what development associated with rail transit looks like. These videos do a good job of showing how high speed rail interacts with local transit (both bus and rail) and how development is attracted to stations. Obviously, money is needed to put this type of product together, but many benefits could be realized during outreach efforts.
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