FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             

Date:  November 20, 2009

CONTACT: Stu Nicholson

[email protected]

614-644-0513

 

ORDC Commissioners Say They Prefer DMU’s for the 3C “Quick Start”

Progress on Grade Crossing Safety, Freight Projects Also Detailed

 

COLUMBUS (Friday, November 20, 2009) - As Ohio awaits word from Washington on its stimulus funding application for the 3C “Quick Start” Passenger Rail Plan, the state’s rail commission wants to see the Ohio Department of Transportation use the latest technology in self-propelled passenger rail cars - cars are more cost-effective and could be built here in Ohio.

 

The Ohio Rail Development Commission passed a motion yesterday asking ORDC staff and ODOT to explore the preferred use of Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) passenger rail vehicles.

 

The Commission wants ODOT and ORDC to have an equipment plan ready when the state gets word on its federal stimulus application for investing, constructing, and operating a passenger rail service corridor connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati with medium speed 79 mph passenger trains.

 

The application for $564 million was submitted October 2nd to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and an answer could be forthcoming as early as the end of January.

 

Unlike conventional passenger trains that use a locomotive to pull the cars, the modern-looking DMUs combine the passenger car with the locomotive, making each individual railcar self-propelled.

 

In examining the two train types - which included visits by ODOT and ORDC staff to observe trains already in operation in other states - DMUs proved to be more cost-effective, fuel-efficient and emissions-efficient. They can also carry more passengers with fewer cars than was originally indicated in the Amtrak study upon which Ohio’s stimulus grant application was based.

 

ORDC Commission Vice-Chair Tom McOwen, a veteran railroader who worked with staff on the report, says he wasn’t sure at first if DMUs would compare favorably with a locomotive-hauled train.

 

“But it knocked my socks off when I saw how efficient DMUs appear to be,” said McOwen. “Most Ohioan’s haven’t had passenger trains for 30 years, so it’s important that the equipment we choose makes a good first impression.”

 

Newly-appointed Commission Chairman James Bradley remarked that selecting equipment is an important “stake in the ground” in order for Ohio to be ready to meet a 2011-2012 timeline to have the 3C “Quick Start” passenger service underway.

 

Although several manufacturers produced diesel multiple unit passenger vehicles, only one U.S.-based company makes a DMU that is compliant with FRA-mandated crash standards. That manufacturer is the former Colorado Rail Car, which has since been purchased by an Ohio-based company and renamed U.S. Rail Car.

 

In partnership with ODOT and ORDC, U.S Rail Car has applied for a separate federal stimulus grant to construct a manufacturing and maintenance facility in central Ohio. Approval of that grant is also pending.

 

***********

 

In further business, Commissioners also got a progress on ORDC and ODOT staff efforts to improve safety at highway/ railroad grade crossings through “signal pre-emption”:  improving how crossing and traffic signals can be coordinated to further reduce car-train collisions.

 

The following projects were also approved for funding:

·        Grant to the Ohio Central Railroad to repair a swing-bridge over the Muskingum River & canal at Zanesville.

·        Bridge repairs to the Ohio portion of the Indiana & Eastern Railroad in Butler County.

·        Rail line rehabilitation for the City of Lebanon-owned rail line which hosts the LM&M tourist railroad.

·        Removal of a deteriorated bridge over the Ohio Central Railroad “Panhandle Line” near Marne Road in Licking County and replacement with an at-grade private crossing.

·        Rehabilitation of a five-plus mile long portion of the Ashland Railway between Mansfield and Willard.

 

For details on any of these projects, please contact Stu Nicholson at 614-644-0513 or by e-mail at [email protected] or Scott Varner, ODOT Communications, at (614) 644-8640 or [email protected]

 

(The Ohio Rail Development Commission is an independent agency operating within the Ohio Department of Transportation.  ORDC is responsible for economic development through the improvement and expansion of passenger and freight rail services and railroad grade crossing safety. For more information about what ORDC does for Ohio, visit our website at: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Rail )

Earlier today, members of NOACA's Transportation Advisory Committee voted unanimously in support of a recommendation to put 3C "Quick Start" on NOACA's long-range transportation plan. Now, all metropolitan planning organizations along the 3C Corridor will have this project on their long-range plans, thereby making the project eligible to receive federal funds.

 

Thanks to all of you who submitted public comments to NOACA in support of this recommendation!

 

It was moved from the TAC to the full Board with staff reccommendations that it be placed on an illustrustive project list amended to the TIP.  If 2 specific criteria are met - full funding from the feds AND a plan showing operational funding through 2030 - then it can move from the illustrative TIP to the financially constrained projects TIP.  As it is worded now, a federal grant of $450 million would not move this to the TIP.

 

My understanding is that other MPOs are considering/have passed language placing the 3C quick start directly onto the financially constrained TIP and skipping the illustrative project TIP step.  Basically, ODOT testified at 2 different meetings that this project should qualify for the TIP based on a "funding strategy" that is consistent with the TIP process.  NOACA staff either disagrees with this, or doesn't want to try something different, not sure which, but "traditionally" was thrown around a bit.  In the end, the TAC followed staff recs.

 

There may be an opportunity to amend this at the full board on Dec. 11.  All Aboard Ohio's statement was passed out and referenced, and there was 1 public comment.  This is open to comment before Board action, so i would encourage others to at least submit written comments, or attend the Dec. board meeting.

 

It is good that it is moving forward, but, imo, it is a pretty weak statement of support from NEO.

Thanks for the additional information. You have a very good grasp of the details of MPO policies and procedures (do I know you?). And that's a good suggestion about Dec. 11.

 

As for ORDC preferring a Diesel-Multiple Unit train, this is my preference for a DMU: Bombardier's Super Voyager. It is relatively quiet inside considering the engines are beneath the passengers' feet, the trains can exceed 100 mph, and Super Voyager (unlike the regular Voyager) has tilt so it can maintain high average speeds on US tracks which lack curve superelevation (banking). The Super Voyagers also have five cars, while the regular Voyagers have just four cars.

 

But don't take my word for it. See it for yourself....

 

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

 

 

And there's a couple of Super Voyagers in this midst of 100+ mph electrics at :50 and 3:25 (plus regular Voyagers at 2:30 and 4:40). Normal cruising speed for diesels and electrics on the East Coast Main Line between London, York and Edinburgh is 125 mph...

 

The Voyagers and Super Voyagers can be found on any of these routes. For scale, the distance from Edinburgh, Scotland to Reading (a far-western commuter town of London) is about 400 miles. And it's roughly 200 miles from Edinburgh to York....

 

http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/Find_a_train/Route_map.aspx

Interesting. They want to use Bombardier DMU's in the Eastern Corridor as well. They were part of my thesis at UC. I wasn't aware they could go much faster than approaching 100MPH, and that their fuel efficiency starts to drop after that? Can you confirm/deny?

 

They are pretty sweet looking though. Definitely workable for the first couple service levels of this route.

 

 

I live in Dayton and drive almost daily past the Air Force museum in Riverside. On these drives I've been imagining what it'll be like to see 3C trains rolling by. I've also been wondering if there's been any discussion on here about the logos that the 3C trains will have. Any thoughts/discussion on possible logos? 

Interesting. They want to use Bombardier DMU's in the Eastern Corridor as well. They were part of my thesis at UC. I wasn't aware they could go much faster than approaching 100MPH, and that their fuel efficiency starts to drop after that? Can you confirm/deny?

 

They are pretty sweet looking though. Definitely workable for the first couple service levels of this route.

 

 

I hadn't heard they were being considered for the Eastern Corridor -- I assume you mean Amtrak's Northeast Corridor?

 

It's pretty common for most gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles to become less fuel efficient the faster they go because their engines burn hotter at higher speeds. Some are less efficient than others though, though I haven't heard of any bad marks against the Voyager or Super Voyager.

^ I'm talking about the Eastern Corridor project in Cincinnati. Sorry, I should have added that in there.

I live in Dayton and drive almost daily past the Air Force museum in Riverside. On these drives I've been imagining what it'll be like to see 3C trains rolling by. 

 

Shouldn't you be imagining what it would be like to be on the train instead of pounding I-75?  :laugh:

Shouldn't you be imagining what it would be like to be on the train instead of pounding I-75?  :laugh:

Oh yea! I've done lots of imagining (like daily). :lol:

Nothing wrong with imagining what it would be like if everybody else is on the train, and you have the road to yourself. :)

Nothing wrong with imagining what it would be like if everybody else is on the train, and you have the road to yourself. :)

Nah! I'd rather be on the train with everyone else.  :lol:

Here's some pictures I shot of the Voyager trains during recent trips to the UK. This first picture was shot in March 2008 at Bristol Temple Meads station...

 

In May the year before at York, I stood on the train-spotting balcony at the National Railway Museum (a must-see for any visitor to the UK!), I videotaped a few of the 400 daily trains coming in and out of the York station. This photo was pulled off the video...

 

Like Bristol, York's station has a curved train shed. A Virgin railways Voyager DMU makes an appearance. About 7 million people a year get on/off trains at York, a city with maybe 150,000 people. By comparison, about 7 million people get on/off Amtrak trains at New York. That's Europe for ya.....

 

One last look at the Voyager DMU, again at York. I sure do like these trains (can ya tell?)...

 

Wouldn't they look great in Ohio?!?!

Great photos! Its really hard to believe that there was a time when this nation actually DID know how to travel on trains....  Time for a change to the trains!

Will the 3-C corridor rail project promote new business or cause business growth in significant ways, now that our cities have the potential to be better networked? Have there been any studies done on that?

Since passenger rail ststaions tend to be magnets for the development of new business and the adaptive reuse of existing prpoerties, I would say the answer is yes. 

 

Conisder what has happened along the Downeaster corridor between Boston and Portland, Maine:

 

http://www.amtrakdowneaster.com/userfiles/file/AmtrakDowneasterOverviewofProjectedEconomicImpacts2.pdf

 

You might also check these out from the Surface Transportation Policy project:

 

http://www.transact.org/library/factsheets/jobs.asp

 

http://www.transact.org/library/factsheets/prosperity.asp

A press release FYI..........

 

Date:              November 24, 2009

Contact:        Laura A. Loges

 

Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission

937.223.6323, Extension 246

[email protected]

 

Subject:          Public Meeting to be Held Regarding Amending the Region’s Long Range Transportation Plan in Anticipation of Receiving Passenger Rail Funding

 

Dayton, OH - The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) will hold a Public Participation Meeting regarding the proposed amendment to the Region’s Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) in anticipation of receiving passenger rail funding (3C + D Corridor)

 

The meeting will be held as follows:

 

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

 

Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission

One S. Main Street

Suite 260

Downtown Dayton, OH

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

 

The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), in consultation with statewide transportation stakeholders have, for a number of years, been working on a master plan to implement passenger rail service in Ohio.  This Ohio Hub Plan identifies a series of prospective transportation corridors for providing passenger rail service throughout Ohio. 

 

The project planning process towards reintroducing passenger rail service in the 3C + D corridor (Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati + Dayton) has progressed to where it is time to coordinate amending the project into Ohio’s MPO Long Range Transportation Plans located within the 3C + D corridor service area (including MVRPC).  The Plan amendment effort includes a financial strategy and a new transportation conformity determination (air quality analysis).

 

Ohio’s “Quick Start” Passenger Rail Plan, known as the 3C + D Corridor, will connect Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton with modern, conventional speed (up to 79 MPH) passenger trains, in the state’s most densely-populated travel corridor, which last had passenger rail service in 1971.  It also is part of the corridor for future high speed rail (up to 110 MPH) under development by Ohio and its neighboring states.  With funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Ohio’s 3C + D “Quick Start” plan would have initial conventional-speed service running by 2011, putting another travel choice in reach of more than 60% of Ohio’s population and is expected to carry 478,000 riders in the first year.

 

If you are unable to attend, information is also available for public review on MVRPC’s web site at www.mvrpc.org . 

 

The public can also review the information at the MVRPC offices, One Dayton Center, One S. Main Street, Suite 260, Dayton, OH, 45402, during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday). 

 

At all MVRPC public participation meetings, interpreters for hearing impaired individuals or bi-lingual interpreters are available upon request.  Requests should be made at least one week prior to the meeting date. Contact MVRPC at (937) 223-6323 or 1-800-750-0750 TTY/TDD to request an interpreter.

now it's the 3C +D corridor???  ::)

It's actually the 3C+D+2S+1G+1M .......

 

That's a joke we've been telling in rail circles ever since Dayton first asked to have its D added a couple of decades ago.

I'm taking a physiology course right now. Please no more letter-number combinations. My brain will explode.

Then this won't help....

 

I'm hearing that the right-wing Heritage Foundation is fishing for former US General Accounting Office personnel to write or oversee a highly critical position paper on the 3C Corridor Quick Start project.

 

In my friend's words, the Heritage Foundation is "gunning for 3C".

Why Dayton, but not Akron?

Please do a search of this thread. It's been discussed many times. The short answer: the principal 3C corridor tracks never went through Akron. Look for my posting with the photos of the freight trains....

 

Found it for ya (because I'm such a nice person):

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,18328.msg422522.html#msg422522

Then this won't help....

 

I'm hearing that the right-wing Heritage Foundation is fishing for former US General Accounting Office personnel to write or oversee a highly critical position paper on the 3C Corridor Quick Start project.

 

In my friend's words, the Heritage Foundation is "gunning for 3C".

 

Don't worry, there are only three expenditures some right-wing think tanks will endorse. War. Highways. Faith-based initiatives.

Not surprising at all that the Heritage Foundation is "gunning" for the 3C.  What'd you expect?  They are all part of the same network as the Buckeye Institute for Public ("Palsy") Policy folks.  Why should anyone who favors passenger rail be at all intimidated by these guys?  They offer nothing new....they offer no solutions... they offer the same tired, unfounded criticisms and nothing more than reasons NOT to do something that makes life in Ohio better.

 

They will shroud themselves in the cloak of caring for the taxpayer.  What about caring for the wallets of these same taxpayers, their families, friends and neighbors who are getting gouged by gasoline prices and (if they don't own or can't afford a car) are left with no options for connecting with jobs, education, health care and whatever else they need in their daily lives? The ability of a society to access what it needs depends on mobility.  It is the essence of freedom.  So why do the Heritage Foundation and Buckeye Institute want all of us to be less free?  Who are the patriots here?

 

Screw these guys.  Their time is done!  This is our time! Take the fight to them.

We are.... All Aboard Ohio is about to issue a report that will demonstrate how much this state has truly lost transportation-wise over the past 30 years. It's quite disgusting.

That's great, but doubtful it will be enough. The Heritage/ Buckeye Institute twits will just counter it some way.  You can fire volleys back and forth all day with these guys.

 

They need to have their legs taken out from under them by having their whole political philopsophy shown for what it is:  a formula for a stagnant economy, higher transportation costs for everyone, a further decayed environment.  Their argument is not even for the status quo.  It is a regressive philosphy that will take Ohio back to before the Canal Era.

 

The Heritage/Buckeye guys are like school yard bullies.  They don't expect anyone to fight back and force them to back off like the cowards they are....and they are cowards.

Please do a search of this thread. It's been discussed many times. The short answer: the principal 3C corridor tracks never went through Akron. Look for my posting with the photos of the freight trains....

 

Found it for ya (because I'm such a nice person):

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,18328.msg422522.html#msg422522

 

 

I'm glad Ohio has always been a major rail state. Imagine the bureacracy of dealing with easements/right-of-way in all of those municipalities it runs through.

I've said it before and I'll say it again concerning Heritage and Buckeye, I just don't get it, of the g'umint stuff to stop this just seems like such a good idea. Arrgh.

Rush is on for stimulus's high-speed rail dollars

By Jordan Schrader, USA TODAY

 

The prospect of bullet trains whisking travelers from city to city at more than 200 miles an hour, stalled for years in America's car-loving culture, should finally get a boost this winter.

 

That's when the Federal Railroad Administration will start handing out $8 billion in economic stimulus money, according to spokesman Rob Kulat.

 

All indications point to late January or February for the first round of grants, says Yoav Hagler, an associate planner for America 2050, an organization focused on infrastructure, economic development and the environment.

 

Find this article at:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2009-11-30-high-speed-rail-stimulus_N.htm 

 

November 30, 2009

Foreign Suitors Lining Up for U.S. High-Speed Rail Payday

By JOSH VOORHEES of Greenwire

for The New York Times

 

With the United States expected to spend billions of dollars on high-speed rail over the next decade, European and Asian manufacturers have launched charm offensives aimed at selling themselves and their technology to states with big projects in mind.

 

The train makers came courting after the White House secured $8 billion from the federal stimulus for high-speed rail. They hosted federal and state officials on trips to show off their bullet trains and visited Washington, D.C., and the Midwest to show interest in developing long-term relationships.

 

Talgo, a Spanish manufacturer, says it is looking to open a factory in Wisconsin for building two passenger-train sets there. Those contracts are not part of the stimulus program, but the company has made no secret it would expand the plant if it were handed a high-speed rail contract.

 

Full story at:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/11/30/30greenwire-foreign-suitors-lining-up-for-us-high-speed-ra-44368.html

 

Company: Midwest High Speed Rail Association

Project:  FY2010 high speed rail appropriation campaign

Link: https://progressivepublicaffairs.basecamphq.com/P27583012

 

John Krieger said:

 

  Here is nicely edited video of the Illinois event care of

  Progress Illinois. Can we put it up on the site?

 

  http://progressillinois.com/2009/12/1/lawmakers-ask-congress-rail

 

I love press releases, because we can post the whole thing, and without a web link for reference.....

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             

Date: 

CONTACT: Stu Nicholson

[email protected]

614-644-0513

 

3C “Quick Start” Means More than Trains

Other Rail Corridors Already Seeing Major Development Around Stations

 

(Columbus) – Passenger train stations in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton will serve as more than just stopping places for trains along Ohio's 3C "Quick Start" Service, according to research by the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Rail Development Commission. The proposed six stops along the corridor could quickly become hubs for all modes of transportation and spark sustainable, mixed-use development.

 

Ohio Rail Development Commission and ODOT staff have met with cities along the 3C to discuss station-area development even before Ohio’s application for federal stimulus funding for the 3C “Quick Start” was submitted on October 2nd.  The message to local communities has been to view station stops as a place where not only other modes of ground transportation come together for passengers, but as a catalyst for either new development or adaptive re-use of existing buildings for everything from retail to residential.

 

Passenger rail planners for ODOT and ORDC are reviewing successful models such as the one in New Mexico along the 97-mile long “Rail Runner” corridor between Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Belem.  In operation barely over 3 years, the corridor service just carried its 2-millionth passenger.  But passenger demands for something more than a train station have caught the ear of developers.

 

Just before Thanksgiving, the Bernalillo County Commission unanimously adopted the “Bernalillo County / International Sunport Station Area Plan” which is designed to help the area transform into a mixed-use area offering local and regional employment and retail opportunities, housing, and other amenities. Development would center on Rail Runner’s station at Rio Bravo and Second Street.

 

“The Rail Runner introduces a range of new opportunities for the South Valley”, says Lawrence Rael, Executive Director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments. “In addition to providing a much-needed transportation alternative for South Valley residents with direct connections to Downtown and to Santa Fe, the Rail Runner makes the area more attractive to high quality residential, retail and office uses.”

 

Here in Ohio, the planned and potential stops along the 3C Corridor include communities that have historic stations that can be re-used as well as those with the opportunity for new development…. Columbus and Dayton for instance… whose historic train stations were demolished many years ago.

 

“When we see the kind of development of stations and the core areas around them in places like Albuquerque and Saco, Maine,” says ORDC Executive Director Matt Dietrich, “it gives us confidence we will see a revival of core urban and town centers where trains will stop along the 3C Corridor.”

 

“The train station at Saco Island has become the go-to place in an area that had been moribund for more than 50 years,” developer Robert Martin told a recent meeting of Dayton business leaders sponsored by the Ohio Environmental Council.  Martin is the developer of an estimated $100-million dollars mixed use re-development of a former textile mill at Saco.  The development sits just steps from the newly-opened, $2.5-million dollar “green” Saco Transportation center, which serves the popular state-supported Amtrak “Downeaster.”

 

Martin said the State of Maine invested less than $100 million, prompting an estimated $7 billion in new construction investment, almost 7 million square feet of new commercial space and 18,000 new jobs. “It’s been like that all over the country, and there’s no reason to believe Ohio can’t be the same,” Martin said.

 

ODOT and ORDC are aggressively pursuing $564 million in federal stimulus funding for the 3C “Quick Start” Passenger Rail Plan - connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati with 79 mph passenger trains. The stimulus funds could be awarded as early as the first quarter of 2010.

I love Stu's email tagline: "Passenger Rail: the penicillin for pain at the pump."

 

There's a rendering attached to the press release I recieved; I'm not sure if it was already posted. I see some Transit-Oriented Development in the background! After seeing Alexandria, I'm really excited about this project's future impact on responsible development in Ohio :) .

 

The rendering is of the proposed Rail Runner station in New Mexico.  I saw the release on their website.

Wow, I should have known. Look at the topography! lol!

What is the scary bird on the side of the train?

It's a roadrunner (the rail service is called RailRunner). Besides, it looks more impressive than this version of the roadrunner:

 

A photo of one of their locomotives from the innaugural day of service. (Photo credit: Rail Runner Express).

Full story at:

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-news/lahood-champions-hsr-for-manufacturing-prospects-job-generation.html

 

LaHood champions HSR for manufacturing, job prospects   

 

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gave the opening address Friday at a conference in Washington, D.C. convened to address domestic high speed rail manufacturing potential, and hammered at rail manufacturing’s potential to put Americans to work as an extension of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

 

 

Perhaps mindful of criticism in recent days suggesting a large portion of federal stimulus dollars targeted for alternative energy development was reportedly generating jobs outside the U.S., LaHood stressed that no such scenario would occur for U.S. high speed rail. “If this program succeeds is perceived as not creating American jobs, it is not going to succeed,” he asserted. “This a tremendous opportunity for the rail industry to capitalize on a historic achievement.”

 

DOT noted the Federal Railroad Administration has received 45 applications from 24 states totaling about $50 billion to advance large HSR corridor programs, while 214 applications from 34 states, totaling $7 billion, were submitted for corridor planning and smaller projects.

 

 

Congress readies huge year-end spending bill

By ANDREW TAYLOR (AP) – 12 hours ago

 

WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators sealed agreement Tuesday night on sweeping spending legislation that boosts housing and heating subsidies but curbs President Barack Obama's requests for aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan.....

 

......There's $2.5 billion for high-speed rail programs, which comes on top of $8 billion approved earlier this year as part of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program. A program that subsidizes flights to and from rural airports — sometimes at thousands of dollars per ticket — would receive $200 million, a 47 percent increase.

Read full story at:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gBPaHA8wyvhZsKWPW8Uxp30QpfqgD9CFIILG0

Rural air subsidies, even though they are pretty small, are one of those things that screams "appease my district." I also had no idea that some of the tax of airline tickets goes to building and maintaining little-used rural airfields.

 

The Ohio Department of Transportation works to gain funds for a train system

By Quentin Kilpatrick

BG Views

Published: Friday, December 11, 2009

Updated: Friday, December 11, 2009

 

Ohio may be closer to laying down the tracks for a new generation of passenger rail service that will connect the state’s cities with each other and the rest of the nation.

 

The Ohio Department of Transportation will discover this winter whether the department will receive the $564 million it applied for in federal stimulus funds to create a “3Cs” network, which would link Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati with daily passenger rail service.

 

But Ohio isn’t alone in its desire to jump-start a passenger rail; the state is one of 26 that are applying for part of the Obama administration’s $8 billion federal stimulus funds provided specifically for passenger rail development across the country.

 

Full story at: http://www.bgviews.com/our-views/campus/the-ohio-department-of-transportation-works-to-gain-funds-for-a-train-system-1.2119192

A photo of one of their locomotives from the innaugural day of service. (Photo credit: Rail Runner Express).

 

FYI.  There seems to be a problem with the picture.

$4.1 billion in spending bill for intercity passenger rail    

Railway Age Magazine

 

The $1.1 trillion spending bill approved late Thursday by House-Senate conferees contains $4.1 billion for new and existing intercity passenger rail. Amtrak gets $1.6 billion to maintain and improve its current operations, and $2.5 billion is authorized for high speed passenger rail.

 

The high speed allocation is a down payment on the $8 billion President Obama pledged early this year for high speed rail corridors. The President's total commitment came to $13 billion with the addition of $1 billion annually for five years as part of the transportation reauthorization process.

 

Full story at:

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-news/4.1-billion-in-spending-bill-for-intercity-passenger-rail.html

 

 

Just found out this bill includes $938,300 for the Ohio Hub Plan including the Cleveland-Elyria-Toledo-Detroit PEIS.  This project was secured by Rep. Sutton, Sen. Brown, Rep. Kaptur, Rep. Kilroy, and Rep. Driehaus.

Was this more or less than expected?

Don't know...but it is welcome nonetheless. 

Please be sure to thank those leaders for their support of Cleveland - Elyria - Sandusky - Toledo - Detroit!

Yet Amtrak's eastbound and westbound trains last night between Cleveland and Buffalo via Erie were delayed by only one hour due to the lake-effect snow. With more public support for rails, we would have better train service to ensure commerce doesn't get slowed. Can we do better than this in America?......

______________

 

Travelers headed to Buffalo stranded in Cleveland

By Michael Sangiacomo

December 11, 2009, 3:35PM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio-- More than 50 travelers spent the night at the Greyhound Station when buses headed to the Northeast were idled Thursday because of a winter storm.

 

Most were still at the bus station Friday afternoon, waiting for word when they could complete their journeys.

 

"They're not telling us anything except that there will be updates every two hours, and the updates just tell us when the next update will be," said Anna Chartier, 30, who was trying to get home to Seabrook, N.H. "They are not very friendly or helpful, they didn't even give us coffee."

 

READ MORE AT:

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/12/travelers_headed_to_buffalo_st.html

Midwest HSR efforts being noticed in Florida:

 

Florida, others battle for federal rail grants

BY LESLEY CLARK

[email protected]

 

Florida lawmakers invested in commuter rail this week, believing the support would help the state win a slice of federal stimulus money set aside for rail projects. But the competition is stiff.

Eight Midwestern states -- including Illinois, home to President Barack Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood -- are bidding for the same federal rail money. California alone is seeking $4.7 billion for a bullet train from Sacramento to San Diego.

 

In all, nearly 40 states and Washington, D.C., have sent in applications for rail money totaling nearly $60 billion -- with only $8 billion to go around.

 

Full story at:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1378363.html

CREATE could boost high-speed rail projects

Monday, December 14, 2009 

 

High-speed rail is a glamorous idea -- it's fun to imagine a train streaking through the cornfields from Chicago to St. Louis in four hours. Less glamorous are some of the fixes that need to be made to Chicago's notoriously slow freight rail system. Talk about projects like "signalize interlocking" and "grade separation," and eyes glaze over, The Chicago Sun Times reports.

 

But the promise of faster passenger rail is inextricably linked to the down-and-dirty business of freight. To make passenger and commuter trains move faster, you have to get the boxcars out of the way. And to do that, there needs to be more work done on the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program to improve freight, passenger and automobile traffic, according to U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski.

 

"You cannot have efficient passenger train service without the freight rail out of the way," Lipinski said. "They're all using the same track."

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.rtands.com/newsflash/create-could-boost-high-speed-rail-projects.html