That being said, I think the 3 C corridor would be a much more practical and different experience than my experience across the country.  It would feel more similar to the Amtrak routes along the east coast where the corridors are densely populated with more regular schedules and usage. 

Edited April 2, 20214 yr by TH3BUDDHA

Amtrak experiences are vastly different depending on what part of the country you're in and the route/train/part of train that you're using. Taking a train out west is like a camping trip. Taking a train from Detroit or Milwaukee or St. Louis or intermediate cities to Chicago, or even on routes east of Pittsburgh and Buffalo is like a spacious airliner/commuter train/Greyhound bus with a mix of business travelers, college students, seniors and families. And the experience is even more different when you choose the business class/club car. There are increasingly long sections of routes in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, eastern Pennsylvania and eastern New York where train speeds of 90-110 mph are common.

 

And then there's the Northeast Corridor which is more like riding a train in Europe than anything else in the USA. When I ride trains in Ohio, I feel like I'm doing something weird -- or at least I used to back in the 1980s-90s. The passenger composition is decidedly younger in the 21st century than it was in the latter decades of the 20th century. When you ride a train in the Northeast Corridor, it's like being part of the mainstream. It's also like riding a really nice subway where the trains run every 15-30 minutes and they hustle in/out of crowded stations nearly as quickly as a subway. The only difference is that Amtrak doesn't allow standees. Everything is reserved seats. And the train speeds regardless of whether you're on the Regionals or the higher-class Acela will regularly stay above 100 mph. Acela cruises at 100-150 mph east of New Haven and 100-135 mph southwest of New York to DC. The New York-New Haven portion is a frustrating dog that whimpers along at 50-70 mph. Even Ohio's trains go faster than that.

 

So what we'll see in Ohio is something more like the Midwest short-haul runs out of Chicago and the trains that run east of Buffalo and Pittsburgh. It won't be like the camping trip typical with western trains.

 

Here's a first-timer riding on the St. Louis-Chicago Lincoln Corridor:

 

 

 

And first-time report on the Empire Corridor (Niagara Falls-Buffalo-Albany-New York City):

 

 

Ohio sometimes gets to benefit from other states' investments in the tracks/signals. In this video of fast-moving Empire trains, the first train is the Lake Shore Ltd from Chicago, Toledo and Cleveland...

 

 

Yeah you feel like you're getting away with something if you're on a train in Ohio.

 

Currently.

4 hours ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

I took a trip out to Denver on Amtrak and the boarding process blew my mind.  I went in expecting it to feel like flying, but was way off.  I boarded at the "station" in Elyria.  I put that in quotes because I almost couldn't find it because I was looking for a building, but it is actually just a small elevated platform by a parking lot.  I later learned that this is what most pick up locations look like outside of big cities.  Just looks like a bus stop.  The train pulled up in the middle of the night(it was like 1.5 hrs late for a departure time that was scheduled for 3am-ish) and a person jumps out of the door to check your ticket.  At that point, I got on the train with a huge bag of luggage(backpacking/camping equipment) no questions asked.  There were a couple Amish guys getting on as well with gigantic camo backcountry backpacks that I assume contained hunting equipment.  If you are looking for a quick, convenient trip, Amtrak doesn't really provide that.  You regularly stop and wait for long periods of time for freight trains to use the track and are often very behind schedule.  Would I recommend trying it?  Absolutely.  I plan to do a major trip around the country at some point.  You see things you wouldn't if you flew/drove and it was fun just hanging out in the observation car.

 

A long distance trip like that is much different than a trip on the Northeast Corridor where trains are fast and mostly on-time. On the long haul routes the delays compound because of the distance. A trip between Columbus and Cincinnati would behave more like a trip between NYC and Philly I would suspect. It's incredibly convenient for short trips.

 

EDIT: @TH3BUDDHAI didn't see your second post where you basically say the same thing I just said. My bad.

Edited April 2, 20214 yr by DEPACincy

34 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

A long distance trip like that is much different than a trip on the Northeast Corridor where trains are fast and mostly on-time. On the long haul routes the delays compound because of the distance. A trip between Columbus and Cincinnati would behave more like a trip between NYC and Philly I would suspect. It's incredibly convenient for short trips.

 

EDIT: @TH3BUDDHAI didn't see your second post where you basically say the same thing I just said. My bad.

No problem.  @KJPexpands way better in his post, too.  I definitely want to ride the NE corridor at some point or, fingers crossed, the 3C corridor.

Edited April 2, 20214 yr by TH3BUDDHA

13 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

No problem.  @KJPexpands way better in his post, too.  I definitely want to ride the NE corridor at some point.

 

Yes, you might like it. Especially when the Acela 21's enter regular service at 160 mph through New Jersey and Maryland. These are test runs at/near what will be their regular speed through here....

 

 

22 minutes ago, KJP said:

 

Yes, you might like it. Especially when the Acela 21's enter regular service at 160 mph through New Jersey and Maryland. These are test runs at/near what will be their regular speed through here....

 

 

Looks awesome.  It sounds extremely smooth.  Will these be pretty smooth rides?  I was actually a bit surprised at how turbulent the ride could feel when getting up to full speed out in no man's land in the midwest.  And that was half the speed as this.  Not a ton of train experience, so that may just be normal.  I imagine that there is a difference in track maintenance for the different routes.

Edited April 2, 20214 yr by TH3BUDDHA

2 hours ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

Looks awesome.  It sounds extremely smooth.  Will these be pretty smooth rides?  I was actually a bit surprised at how turbulent the ride could feel when getting up to full speed out in no man's land in the midwest.  And that was half the speed as this.  Not a ton of train experience, so that may just be normal.  I imagine that there is a difference in track maintenance for the different routes.

 

Yes, very smooth. Northeast Corridor tracks are supposed to be maintained so that the rails are not out of alignment to more than 1/16th of an inch.

8 hours ago, KJP said:

 

 

 

I love this sound...the airhorn, the pass (with doppler effect) and the cars whisking by.   If you're up early on the near west side you can hear Amtrak whisking past Edgewater and Battery Park.  

Redirecting from the Tower City real estate developments thread.....

 

39 minutes ago, Mendo said:

Whether it's here or the lakefront, I still believe the biggest impediment to getting this done will be our state legislature.

 

 

I started writing a reply but turned it into a blog post at AAO's website.....

 

http://allaboardohio.org/2021/04/17/from-750-miles-to-500-how-a-new-definition-can-expand-amtrak-in-ohio/

 

 

 

 

17 minutes ago, KJP said:

Redirecting from the Tower City real estate developments thread.....

 

I started writing a reply but turned it into a blog post at AAO's website.....

 

http://allaboardohio.org/2021/04/17/from-750-miles-to-500-how-a-new-definition-can-expand-amtrak-in-ohio/

 

This is awesome. Glad to see my AAO membership fees being put to good use. Thanks, Ken!

 

Thanks for your support! Glad you could find that orange DONATE button on our website! 😉

 

BTW, I just wordsmithed the column a bit.

I was doing some reading on Amtrak's new Avelia Liberty trainsets and I had a thought. It seems to me that since these trains are built with tilting tech in order to navigate tighter curves, these would be a great option for high speed service in Ohio and the Midwest. Or any other state that didn't want to build a dedicated high speed line like California for that matter. Since there is already ROW between most major cities in Ohio and the Midwest, there might be an option to upgrade them for high speed service with Avelia Liberty sets. There would be some expensive electrification and track upgrades involved but not much.

 

Specifically I was thinking that since the city of Cincinnati owns the Cincinnati Southern line to Chattanooga, Amtrak could use this for high-speed service to ATL. Just a thought.

Amtrak had to get a crash worthiness waiver from the FRA to run the Avelia Liberty on its own tracks. I doubt the FRA would grant such a waiver for these trains to run on railroad tracks with longer, much more frequent freight trains. I can only imagine the liability insurance requirement the freight railroad would demand. If they could get a waiver, Amtrak would need a redesigned version powered by a diesel locomotive since the travel demand doesn't justify electrification of many US rail lines at $10 million +/- per track mile.

22 minutes ago, KJP said:

 travel demand doesn't justify electrification of many US rail lines at $10 million +/- per track mile.

Like TOD, maybe we need transit-oriented-electricity-generation -- plant windmills, battery packs, and solar farms along and over the right-of-way (and even natural gas wells that feed directly into a fuel cell for electricity generation).  Most electricity generated is lost in transmission, so lower the transmission distance and also sell the power-generation rights to fund electrifying the right-of-way. 

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2020/05/07/are-solar-canopies-ready-for-prime-time/

https://rail.nridigital.com/future_rail_apr19/shining_example_will_solar_pv_power_the_railways_of_the_future

It boggles my mind that electrification can cost that much. I would understand if it included upgrading the rails themselves but just adding cantenary shouldn't be that expensive.

 

1 hour ago, JaceTheAce41 said:

It boggles my mind that electrification can cost that much. I would understand if it included upgrading the rails themselves but just adding cantenary shouldn't be that expensive.

 

The wires are probably the least of the expense.  The infrastructure of making/getting electricity into the lines would be expensive.

2 hours ago, JaceTheAce41 said:

It boggles my mind that electrification can cost that much. I would understand if it included upgrading the rails themselves but just adding cantenary shouldn't be that expensive.

 

 

Oh yes, by the time you add engineering and labor costs, along with the costs of substations, towers and the wires themselves, catenary is very expensive. This is why privately owned, for profit freight railroads don't have it and why Amtrak only has it on the Northeast Corridor. In fact, it wasn't until the 1990's that the New Haven-Boston section of the NEC was electrified. Most routes outside the NEC do not have enough frequencies to justify the cost.

 

That said, there should be far more electrification, but it will take a massive federal expenditure to make that happen.

Edited April 21, 20214 yr by neony

Amtrak Government Affairs Director Derrick James met with Crestline, Ohio officials today. And they rolled out the welcome banner for Amtrak. According to Tom Bosco at WSYX-Columbus, Amtrak predicts 380,000 annual riders for 3C trains and says stops between downtown Cleveland and downtown Columbus would be Hopkins airport, Crestline and Delaware. Interesting that Galion isn't considered. Look for the news story later today on WSYX.

 

 

^I was thinking Grafton would also be good for a local stop. More convenient for Lorain county folks, and easily accessible. Maybe during a later phase once they see all the trains going through town.  Same story for Mt.Gilead/Edison. 
 

Overall really fantastic news. I know Crestline was really disappointed when the last 3C effort was murdered 10 years ago. 

 

Regarding the conversation about where to locate Cleveland's Amtrak station, Tower City or Lakefront....

 

I got to thinking that the best overall solution with the maximum benefit, even though it would be expensive, would be to both relocate Amtrak to Tower City and do the Lakefront Bypass to get freight traffic off the lake.  Not only will it get 10,000 foot freight trains off the lakefront, it opens up multiple possibilities, such as opening up the current lakefront line up to allow RTA to run the Waterfront Line through Asia Town and Midtown and connect it up with the Red Line at E. 79th.  Another possibility is that  the rail ROW could be turned into a fully grade-separated bike route that would connect the Fairfax and Kinsman neighborhoods to the lakefront.  On the west side, it would allow a grade-separated bike route from Cudell to the Lakefront too.   For the North Broadway neighborhood that would be affected by the re-route with additional train traffic, a sound wall along the south side of the tracks as well as either a quiet zone crossing or a grade separation for the E. 65th St. could address that.  The north side of the tracks there is all industrial and wouldn't need a sound wall. 

 

It would be interesting to see a full economic impact analysis of all of the options for the Amtrak station, and the various possibilities it opens up, including this one.   Really, and economic impact analysis should be done anyway so we can find out what will provide the best return on investment.   I know it would be an expensive option, but it could possibly be worth it.  

Pretty new map sent to me in advance of Amtrak doing an Ohio media roundtable tomorrow. Not sure I agree with all of their choices of cities for stations.

1 hour ago, KJP said:

Pretty new map sent to me in advance of Amtrak doing an Ohio media roundtable tomorrow. Not sure I agree with all of their choices of cities for stations.

Besides Middletown, where else would you add? I think the last go around also had Grafton and a second Dayton station near Wright State and Wright Patt AFB. 

1 hour ago, KJP said:

Pretty new map sent to me in advance of Amtrak doing an Ohio media roundtable tomorrow. Not sure I agree with all of their choices of cities for stations.

 

20 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Besides Middletown, where else would you add? I think the last go around also had Grafton and a second Dayton station near Wright State and Wright Patt AFB. 

Oh wait, I was only looking at 3C&D. Yeah, they really need to add either Hudson or Macedonia (aka “Northeast Akron suburbs”, ha) plus something closer to Youngstown. At least both Hamilton and Oxford are on there. 

 

It's not going to get any close to Youngstown than Alliance on that route.  I could see a Ravenna stop to service Kent and Akron perhaps

It appears Amtrak is quite serious about moving forward sooner rather than later with 3C. Amtrak's press conference this afternoon will include their CEO and president.

 

Amtrak Media Roundtable: Three-C+D Corridor Vision

Amtrak leaders and area officials meet about the need for passenger rail service from Cleveland to Cincinnati via Columbus and Dayton

 

Mayors of three Ohio cities and the leader of one of the state’s metropolitan planning agencies will join Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn and Amtrak President Stephen Gardner on Tuesday afternoon, May 18, for a Media Roundtable virtual event to talk about a vision for passenger rail service along a Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati corridor, via Dayton, including Cleveland Hopkins Airport, Crestline, Springfield and Sharonville. Development of this corridor in Ohio is an Amtrak priority.

 

Amtrak produced a transformational map with a bold vision of more than 160 communities we believe can benefit from new intercity passenger rail service and we launched the AmtrakConnectsUS.com website to engage federal, state and local officials and to inform the public.

 

WHO:

Mayor Frank Jackson, Cleveland

Mayor Nan Whaley, Dayton

Mayor Linda Horning-Pitt, Crestline

William Murdock, Exec. Director, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission

Bill Flynn, Amtrak CEO

Stephen Gardner, Amtrak President

 

WHAT:

Media Roundtable Event (virtual)

 

WHEN: 3:30-4:30 p.m., ET, Tuesday, May 18

18 hours ago, KJP said:

Pretty new map sent to me in advance of Amtrak doing an Ohio media roundtable tomorrow. Not sure I agree with all of their choices of cities for stations.

I wish there was a Lake County stop in there. Oh well I can just go to Cleveland’s station if this ever comes to fruition.

 

 

On 5/14/2021 at 7:12 PM, KJP said:

 

 

 

Over and over again I have beat the drum that Columbus wouldn't lose so many people (both natives and transplants) if we had rail of both types. Even some people on here said we don't need it. Being Not Portsmouth isn't good enough! Even Portsmouth has Amtrak (sort of, you have to get across the river). Keep saying "We have cars, I don't want taxes to go up." Then your kid hands you a $250,000 bill to live in a big city with rail. Boy you really saved a lot of money there!

18 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

 

Oh wait, I was only looking at 3C&D. Yeah, they really need to add either Hudson or Macedonia (aka “Northeast Akron suburbs”, ha) plus something closer to Youngstown. At least both Hamilton and Oxford are on there. 

 

I can see Hudson being a very viable option as the city is contemplating what to do with the land directly next to their tracks. They have the First and Main walking pedestrian village right there and probably 30-40 acres of undeveloped land next to the tracks.   Voters turned down a plan to put in apartment complexes there the past year.  Hudson would be a perfect stop. 

Macedonia has built up their areas next to the tracks in the past 5 years with a veterans park and apartment complexes and it really isn’t as accessible anymore as commercial property has backed up against the tracks or major roads run along side it.  Macedonia is just sprawling suburbia that isn’t very walkable. 

 

  

14 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

 

 

Over and over again I have beat the drum that Columbus wouldn't lose so many people (both natives and transplants) if we had rail of both types. Even some people on here said we don't need it. Being Not Portsmouth isn't good enough! Even Portsmouth has Amtrak (sort of, you have to get across the river). Keep saying "We have cars, I don't want taxes to go up." Then your kid hands you a $250,000 bill to live in a big city with rail. Boy you really saved a lot of money there!

Just say thank you to former Gov. John "we need to make Ohio cool" Kasich who couldn't have connected these dots if doing so would have punched his otherwise ever-elusive ticket to the Oval Office. Because of him, we are more than a decade behind where we could be at this point.

 

How much more socially and economically and vibrant might all of Ohio's metropolitan areas be if car ownership and all of its associated costs and challenges wasn't such a fundamental component of living in them? Who can blame people for passing on this state and its cities for others where car ownership isn't essential?

 

We really should be in a place where we are taking about upgrading and expanding rail that we've already got at this point, rather than facing down the political hurdle of re-establishing it. And, at least re-establishing it is on the table in this moment.

They thought that bypassing small towns with faster highways would fix things instead! The other factor is that it's very hard for cities without rail transit to have more than a few solid blocks of good urbanism which obviously retains young people better than cheap suburbs. Cheap suburbs might be good at snatching over-35s, especially if they have walkable cores, but a 26 doesn't care.

2 hours ago, JB said:

I wish there was a Lake County stop in there. Oh well I can just go to Cleveland’s station if this ever comes to fruition.

 

 

 

This is still very early on. That map is going to change once Amtrak gets into doing the service planning, alternatives analyses and preliminary engineering.

 

35 minutes ago, audidave said:

I can see Hudson being a very viable option as the city is contemplating what to do with the land directly next to their tracks. They have the First and Main walking pedestrian village right there and probably 30-40 acres of undeveloped land next to the tracks.   Voters turned down a plan to put in apartment complexes there the past year.  Hudson would be a perfect stop. 

Macedonia has built up their areas next to the tracks in the past 5 years with a veterans park and apartment complexes and it really isn’t as accessible anymore as commercial property has backed up against the tracks or major roads run along side it.  Macedonia is just sprawling suburbia that isn’t very walkable. 

 

  

 

I think Hudson would make a terrific station stop location. If Youngstown-area officials want the trains to serve them, that means restoring the Ravenna Connection track (or restoring the Erie RR north of the Ravenna Arsenal) making Ravenna a good site.

4 hours ago, KJP said:

It appears Amtrak is quite serious about moving forward sooner rather than later with 3C. Amtrak's press conference this afternoon will include their CEO and president.

 

Amtrak Media Roundtable: Three-C+D Corridor Vision

Amtrak leaders and area officials meet about the need for passenger rail service from Cleveland to Cincinnati via Columbus and Dayton

 

Mayors of three Ohio cities and the leader of one of the state’s metropolitan planning agencies will join Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn and Amtrak President Stephen Gardner on Tuesday afternoon, May 18, for a Media Roundtable virtual event to talk about a vision for passenger rail service along a Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati corridor, via Dayton, including Cleveland Hopkins Airport, Crestline, Springfield and Sharonville. Development of this corridor in Ohio is an Amtrak priority.

 

Amtrak produced a transformational map with a bold vision of more than 160 communities we believe can benefit from new intercity passenger rail service and we launched the AmtrakConnectsUS.com website to engage federal, state and local officials and to inform the public.

 

WHO:

Mayor Frank Jackson, Cleveland

Mayor Nan Whaley, Dayton

Mayor Linda Horning-Pitt, Crestline

William Murdock, Exec. Director, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission

Bill Flynn, Amtrak CEO

Stephen Gardner, Amtrak President

 

WHAT:

Media Roundtable Event (virtual)

 

WHEN: 3:30-4:30 p.m., ET, Tuesday, May 18

 A stronger expression of interest by the State of Ohio would have been nice.

Yeah it feels like Biden had to basically go around the state government and say "This is happening whether you like it or not." Which I think is what had to be done for it to actually happen.

10 minutes ago, Dougal said:

 A stronger expression of interest by the State of Ohio would have been nice.

 

An expression of interest, period.

A few printscreens from today's Ohio Media Roundtable on Amtrak's proposed 3C+D service and some highlights

 

With funding provided by Congress and partnerships established with the State of Ohio and on-line communities, Amtrak optimistically hopes to get an introductory level of service started on 3C in a couple of years.

 

Ohio needs passenger rail service to keep young people in Ohio, to keep older Ohioans mobile and involved socially and economically, and provide a stress-free, productive trip.

 

MORPC presented 30 letters of support for passenger rail development in Ohio, including from Columbus Mayor Ginther. Most of the letters requested by MORPC were for trying to get Amtrak interested in Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburgh service.

 

Here's the printscreens....

 

 

 

 

EDIT.... I also posted a Twitter thread here:

 

 

And.... don't forget about this tomorrow:

 

2 hours ago, KJP said:

A few printscreens from today's Ohio Media Roundtable on Amtrak's proposed 3C+D service and some highlights

 

With funding provided by Congress and partnerships established with the State of Ohio and on-line communities, Amtrak optimistically hopes to get an introductory level of service started on 3C in a couple of years.

 

Ohio needs passenger rail service to keep young people in Ohio, to keep older Ohioans mobile and involved socially and economically, and provide a stress-free, productive trip.

 

MORPC presented 30 letters of support for passenger rail development in Ohio, including from Columbus Mayor Ginther. Most of the letters requested by MORPC were for trying to get Amtrak interested in Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburgh service.

 

Here's the printscreens....

 

 

 

 

EDIT.... I also posted a Twitter thread here:

 

 

I love this. This needs to happen. I’m also looking at that Cleveland to New York City potential trip and drooling over the possibilities that that opens when it comes to doing business 

You know, before John Madden got his own bus he did a ton of business on Amtrak. He did the John Madden Football deal with EA during a train trip across the country. 

This is really fantastic. I'm already imagining the day and overnight trips from Toledo I could take to Cleveland, Chicago, and even Detroit. Hourly trains from Toledo to Detroit Metro would also be really fantastic. 

Edited May 18, 20214 yr by westerninterloper

I'm definitely taking the 3C and CIN-CHI train a lot for trips. I'm and FCC season ticket holder and a big sports fan so this would make trips to see baseball and soccer games so much easier.

Why is there no route from Columbus to Pittsburgh?  It's just a huge void in my opinion.  There could even be a stop in Newark as an existing rail line goes right through the city.  

50 minutes ago, OhioFinest said:

Why is there no route from Columbus to Pittsburgh?  It's just a huge void in my opinion.  There could even be a stop in Newark as an existing rail line goes right through the city.  

This route has been discussed for the future.  I will be happy to see the 3-C route get up and running first, but I wouldn't be surprise if the expansion of Pittsburgh-Columbus-Indianapolis line gets added afterwards.  It will provide quite robust connection options through Columbus at that point.

1 hour ago, OhioFinest said:

Why is there no route from Columbus to Pittsburgh?  It's just a huge void in my opinion.  There could even be a stop in Newark as an existing rail line goes right through the city.  

Would like to see a Toledo-Dayton-Cincinnati connection at some point too.

Susan Glaser’s write up of 3C+D for CLE dot com:
Amtrak leaders pitch new Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati route: ‘It’s our goal to get this done’

 

https://www.cleveland.com/travel/2021/05/amtrak-leaders-pitch-new-cleveland-columbus-dayton-cincinnati-route-its-our-goal-to-get-this-done.html

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Amtrak President Stephen Gardner said Tuesday new passenger rail service linking Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati could begin as soon as “a couple of years,” with support from Congress, the state and local communities.

Gardner’s comments were the most specific commitment to date from Amtrak, which earlier this year proposed a major expansion of service throughout the United States, including several new routes in Ohio.

He declined to give a firmer start date, saying Amtrak would have to negotiate with host railroads to use existing track.

 

31 minutes ago, Gnoraa said:

I wouldn't be surprise if the expansion of Pittsburgh-Columbus-Indianapolis line gets added afterwards.

 

A Chicago-Indy(or Ft Wayne)-Columbus-Pittsburgh-East Coast route would be much more valuable for Columbus than the 3C route. I'm fully supportive of the 3C route, but I think Columbus residents would get much more value from the ability to take a train directly to Chicago. Columbus is almost too close to Cleveland and Cincinnati to get much value from the 3C, generally speaking. 

 

Regardless, getting Amtrak back to Columbus is the most important thing for Columbus at this point. Once the 3C route gets up and running, we can worry about adding some more useful routes. 

 

Great screenshot here. We cannot overstate the huge opportunity for Cincinnati and the 3C+D route if we connect south to Atlanta via the city-owned Cincinnati Southern Railway that ends in Chattanooga but Amtrak is planning to connect to when it extends service from Atlanta to Nashville through Chattanooga.

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

 

A Chicago-Indy(or Ft Wayne)-Columbus-Pittsburgh-East Coast route would be much more valuable for Columbus than the 3C route. I'm fully supportive of the 3C route, but I think Columbus residents would get much more value from the ability to take a train directly to Chicago. Columbus is almost too close to Cleveland and Cincinnati to get much value from the 3C, generally speaking. 

 

Regardless, getting Amtrak back to Columbus is the most important thing for Columbus at this point. Once the 3C route gets up and running, we can worry about adding some more useful routes. 

There's a last mile problem for Columbus, Cincinnati, Indy and Detroit without robust urban public transportation. I can see more growth eventually for rail between Cleveland, Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. 

Edited May 19, 20214 yr by westerninterloper

1 hour ago, Luke_S said:

Would like to see a Toledo-Dayton-Cincinnati connection at some point too.

More likely would be a Detroit-Toledo-Columbus line - to connect the NW with the state capital.