Locals stoke the boiler for passenger rail at forum

By Jim Phillips

The Athens News

 

September 2, 2008

 

If a public forum in Athens Saturday was any indication, there’s a lot of interest in the area for passenger trains to begin serving southeast Ohio. Over 50 people attended, and many expressed an urgent desire for light rail.

 

Though the desire exists, however – driven by, among other factors, the cost of gasoline – many obstacles stand in the way of bringing light rail to Athens.

 

Read more at:

 

http://www.athensnews.com/news/local/2008/sep/02/locals-stoke-boiler-passenger-rail-forum/

The connection between NS and CSX in Ravenna would have to be re-installed in order to bring CLE-PGH trains through Warren and Youngstown.  I wonder what the price tag for that is up to now...

 

 

That's assuming this is the route that is desired. That may not be the case. However I prefer it as part of a phased-in approach to developing passenger rail service since the Big Bang approach has never worked before for a variety of reasons.

 

But if you prefer the Big Bang approach and want to serve Youngstown, then you go with one of the former Erie lines -- either straight out of Cleveland on the abandoned Mahoning Division or take the NS line and diverge a little earlier at Ravenna on the former Erie main line. Not only are the tracks not up to 79 mph (or higher) standards, but there are bridges gone, right of way gone, structures built on rights of way and more. If we had the passenger rail development experience, rail-aware travel market, political support and capital funding available for railways like we do for highways and airports, then I'd be all for the Big Bang approach.

 

It will take a couple of decades to get to where we want to be at full build-out if we phase in service a little bit at a time. But that's a lot better than never. And the phased-in approach is proven. The other isn't.

Pittsburgh-to-Cleveland seems like a nice ambitious doable project.  It would definitely give a reason for people to visit Y-town.  My grandparents loved going to Cleveland from Pittsburgh on the train back in the 1930s-1950s to see shows.  It seems like Pittsburgh institutions have been chomping at the bit to have rail go someplace fast over the last 30 years.  Typically, I hear projects involving Maglevs.  But really Cleveland is the closest most logical big city to have rail going to for Pittsburgh.  Just like Cleveland sees an obvious connection rail to Chicago.

 

If I have time, I'll try to get PA's take on this since it seems like they will be the ones leading the charge, not Y-town.

Pennsylvania DOT has no active planning work going on for Cleveland - Pittsburgh, except to support the Ohio Hub planning activities of the Ohio Rail Development Commission.

Ah...but they do have plans for Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, which is the other half of the Keystone Corridor.  Activity in the Cleve-Pitt corridor could give them a reason to speed things up on redeveloping passenger service in the Pitt-H-burg corridor.

Pittsburgh already has service to Philly on the Pennsylvanian and DC on the Capitol Limited. It would be great short-cut for Cleveland to DC - and it might draw a few from Cbus - maybe start with the Amtrak connector buses.

You are aware Cleveland is also served by the Capitol Limited?

 

And Amtrak used to offer Thruway connector buses from Columbus to Pittsburgh and, at one point, had a connector bus from Cleveland to Pittsburgh. These were all Greyhound buses that accepted Amtrak tickets. Greyhound buses operated via the Cleveland Amtrak station; Pittsburgh's old and new Greyhound stations are across the street from the Amtrak station.

Hey i'm SW Ohio guy. That's good to know.

They don't run the connecting buses any more, so it it's useful to know only from an historical perspective.

A couple of links worth sharing about passenger rail development and it's impacts on the environment & development:

 

http://www.s4prc.org/inthenews/2008news/cool_corridors.pdf

 

http://www.s4prc.org/inthenews/2008news/trainstations_july08.pdf

 

http://www.s4prc.org/inthenews/2008news/cool_corridors_capacity.pdf

 

This was developed by the organization States for Passenger Rail.

That's assuming this is the route that is desired. That may not be the case. However I prefer it as part of a phased-in approach to developing passenger rail service since the Big Bang approach has never worked before for a variety of reasons.

 

That's what I was getting at, but didn't explain fully.  The fastest and cheapest way to get CLE-PGH service through YTO is to restore the Ravenna Connection.  Going through Warren requires restoration of the former Erie Line, at least from Ravenna eastward as you say.  That should be step 2.  I see incremental steps as the best way to go. 

from: http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/hotline/more/hotline_570/

 

Passenger Rail Legislation stalled by Oklahoma Senator

 

Staff of Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) acknowledged this week that he has placed a hold on S. 294, a procedural motion that prevents the Senate from appointing its members to the conference committee to work out differences with the House version of the bill.  Coburn’s position makes consideration of S. 294 a time-consuming process when floor time is running short.  And it means that passenger train supporters would need 60 votes (i.e. at least nine Republicans) on a cloture vote, that is, a vote that would override Coburn’s objections.

 

The Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility hosted a news conference at Washington Union Station on September 10 at which Senators, Representatives, and business leaders urged immediate passage of S. 294. Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), John Kerry (D-MA), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ) all spoke, while a news release from the Alliance also quoted Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Reps. Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Joe Sestak (D-PA), and Michael Acruri (D-NY) as affirming support for Amtrak.

 

Kerry noted, “We are the only country in the world that has a rail system that makes it so hard to travel by rail.  Smaller countries spend so much more per capita.” He went on to declare, “We have to build a first rate system, and Amtrak is the backbone of that.  It’s really annoying to me that despite all these factors (price of oil, VMT’s dropping, Amtrak ridership through the roof) we still have to struggle to do the right thing to fund Amtrak.” Carper remarked, “Passing this bill won’t solve all of our problems (environmental and economic) but it sure will go a long way.”

 

Robert Yaro, president of the New York-based Regional Plan Association led the event, also welcoming comments from former Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker ®, now President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Schweiker said, in part, “We’re on the ten yard line, and we need our Members of Congress and Senators to conference this bill and push it into the end zone before the clock runs out.  The reauthorization of Amtrak funding will sustain more than just a rail system – it will protect and promote jobs and commerce.” Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant thanked the business and political officials in attendance for their support of Amtrak.

 

He sucks.

This bill got over 90 votes in the Senate, that means it got more than 40 Republican votes.  All the Dems voted for it.  How hard can it be to get 60 votes to over-ride Coburn's block?  What gives?

 

 

It's one of those arcane Senate rules. Any senator can block legislation by putting a hold on it. Usually this doesn't happen often, but we are dealing with an ideologue here.

^What I said was they can override his block with 60 votes.  My point is, given the margin by which this passed, that shouldn't be difficult, should it?. 

NEWS

OHIO RAIL

DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

50 W. Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215

(614) 644-0306 telephone or fax (614) 728-4520

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             

Date:  September 30, 2008                                                     

CONTACT: Stu Nicholson

[email protected]

614-644-0513

 

Passenger Rail Grant Awarded to ORDC

FRA Grant Advances Route Analysis of 3-C Corridor

 

(Columbus) -- The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded a $62,500 grant to the Ohio Rail Development Commission.

 

“We’re excited about being selected for this grant by the FRA”, says ORDC Executive Director Matt Dietrich. “It demonstrates the validation of Ohio’s passenger rail plans at the Federal level and what we hope is the beginning of Federal resources to advance these plans.”

 

Description: Ohio has contracted with Amtrak to assess the feasibility of initiating a start-up service of two round trips per day between Cleveland and Columbus and possibly to Cincinnati (which together define the "3C” corridor"). The planning project would complement the Amtrak assessment and advance the analysis of alternative 3C routes and station locations that will most effectively serve the corridor - both in the short-term and the long-term. The tasks include: program management, coordination with Amtrak and oversight of Amtrak train operations analysis; drafting purpose and need; and long term alternative route analysis.

 

Benefits: The planning objectives are to support the state initiative for start-up service in the short term by conducting short-term/long-term planning analysis of 3C corridor requirements. This will help to align any short-term actions with the long-term needs, planning and environmental documentation. It is expected that the project would:

 

1.) Support a State-supported Amtrak startup service;

2). Advance the conceptual engineering and analysis of alternative routes and station sites and facilities; and

3.) Clarify a long-term corridor development strategy.

 

The awarding of the FRA grant follows the request earlier this year by Governor Ted Strickland to Amtrak CEO Alex Kummant to begin a ridership and revenue study of possible start-up service in the 3-C Corridor.  The corridor is the most densely-populated in Ohio with almost 60-percent of the state’s population, but has not seen passenger rail service since 1971.

 

(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/ohiorail/)

 

^not to be an ass, but wouldn't the average engineering firm doing a study like this plow through 65 g's in about a week?  I hope this means results come quickly.  :whip:

 

 

good stuff. Already posted about it. Sounds to me like it means they think it's a good idea which can only mean good things for the 3C Corridor Plan and Ohio Hub.

I'm told most of the work will be done in-house and in tandem with Amtrak.

chicagotribune.com

Congress' boost to Amtrak fueled by high gas prices, too much traffic

Chicago would be hub of nine-state, high-speed network

Jon Hilkevitch

 

Getting Around

 

October 6, 2008

 

Highway congestion, high fuel prices, dependence on foreign oil, pollution and global warming are creating perfect conditions for reforming stagnant transportation policies.

 

Read more at:

 

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/transportation/chi-getting-around-06-oct06,0,6770105.column

Shouldn't that be over in the Amtrak thread?

Since the MWRRI is connected to the Ohio Hub, I figured it belonged here.  Both would seek funding from HR-2095.

I got yer Ohio Hub right here......

 

 

 

Ohio Rail Development Commission

Agency awarded passenger rail grant

Federal grant will help fund study of 3C corridor

Wednesday,  October 1, 2008 12:25 PM

By JEFF DONAHUE

 

ThisWeek Staff Writer

The Ohio Rail Development Commission will receive a $62,500 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to help fund a study of a passenger rail route that would link the state's largest cities.

 

Read more at:

 

 

http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/marysville/stories/2008/09/26/Rail.html?sid=104

NEWS

OHIO RAIL

DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

50 W. Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215

(614) 644-0306 telephone or fax (614) 728-4520

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             

Date:  October 10, 2008                                                     

CONTACT: Stu Nicholson

[email protected]

614-644-0513

 

Ohio Can Benefit From Just-Passed Rail Bill

HR-2095 Boosts Both Rail Safety & Passenger Rail

 

Passage of a major rail safety and passenger rail bill is a very important and positive first-step toward moving people and freight in Ohio better, faster and safer.  HR-2095, a comprehensive railroad safety and passenger rail bill was passed by a veto-proof 74-24 margin in the U.S. Senate last week and awaits President George W. Bush’s signature.

 

“At a time when Ohioans most need relief from high gas prices, the passage of this bill has the potential to create critically-needed transportation options for individuals and business in Ohio”, says Governor Ted Strickland.“ Further developing passenger rail can help Ohio families save money while at the same time addressing crucial issues such as climate change and the need to reduce our dependence on oil.”

 

Ohio Rail Development Commission Executive Director Matt Dietrich calls the bill “a major boost for rail safety and the advancement of passenger rail and right in line with the collaborative efforts of both ORDC and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to better balance Ohio's transportation system.”

 

The ORDC is currently working on two passenger rail initiatives:

• The Ohio Hub:  the State of Ohio’s long-range, high-performance passenger rail plan that calls for 110 mph trains in seven corridors. The plan carries a potential economic impact of over $17-billion dollars to Ohio and the region, as well as the creation of over 16,700 new jobs when fully implemented.

• Amtrak 3-C Corridor: ORDC is also working with Amtrak on Governor Strickland’s request to explore establishing conventional passenger rail service in the Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati corridor. Amtrak’s planning staff is preparing to survey the corridor and develop a ridership and revenue report.

 

 

Provisions of HR-2095

 

The bill provides $13.1-billion over five-years for Amtrak and development of high-performance passenger rail corridors by the states. It marks the first time Amtrak has been funded on a multi-year basis in its 37 year history. This can allow Amtrak to plan for new and better services. Ohio is currently served by three Amtrak long-distance routes.

 

Included in the $13.1-billion authorization is a first-ever, $1.9-billion federal matching grant program for states to develop innovative new services, increase capacity on heavily used rail lines, and attract new riders. ORDC’s Ohio Hub Plan would be an eligible project under this program.  Under the program, the state would have to match an 80-percent federal funding with 20-percent of state and local dollars.

 

Other passenger rail provisions include:

 

• High-Speed Rail Corridors:  Grants are provided to plan and develop 11 federally-designated high-speed rail corridors. The Federal Railroad Administration has previously designated the 3-C Corridor as well as the Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland and Chicago-Cincinnati corridors as future high-speed rail corridors. Also included is an extension of Pennsylvania’s “Keystone Corridor” from Pittsburgh to Cleveland.

• On-Time Performance: DOT and the Surface Transportation Board (STB) must investigate Amtrak delays and determine if they are the fault of the host railroad. If so, host rail carrier may be ordered to pay Amtrak monetary damages.

 

HR-2095 would also require installation of positive train control (PTC) by Dec. 31, 2015, on all main-line tracks where intercity passenger and commuter railroads operate, and where toxic-by-inhalation hazmat is transported.  This provision follows the recent, tragic and fatal collision of a commuter and freight train in California.  PTC would automatically stop trains from entering on to a track with another on-coming train.

 

Quick Ohio Rail Facts:

 

Ohio ranks 5th in total railroad miles (5,275 miles) in the United States and is served by 36 railroads including three Class-1 carriers.  In 2006, almost 67-million tons of rail freight originated in Ohio and over 100-million tons of rail freight terminated here.

 

Amtrak serves Ohio with three long-distance trains:

 

• The Capitol Limited (daily Chicago-Cleveland-Pittsburgh-Washington, D.C.)

• The Cardinal (tri-weekly Chicago-Cincinnati-Washington, D.C.-New York)

• The Lake Shore Limited (daily Chicago-Cleveland-Buffalo-Boston/New York)

 

In 2007, over 110-thousand boardings and alightings were made at Ohio Amtrak stops.

The last train to serve Columbus was Amtrak’s National Limited on October 1, 1979.

 

(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/ohiorail/)

 

Awesome. WIth MN, OH and other states realizing the necessity, not luxury, of a strong rail and public transportation system in this Country, that we won't survive economically unless we do it, we have a chance to see this happen. There is strength in numbers too, this is fabulous KJP.

I thought this was worth posting here as the process of "policy-shaping" for the next Administration is already udnerway and that could significantly and positively affect the Ohio Hub and regional rail corridor plans like it.

 

Railroads, rail labor unions recognize Obama Administration's potential

 

Read more at:

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=18550

 

 

EXCITING TIMES FOR RAIL!!

Exciting potential for rail. Still no shovels are being turned in Ohio. When they do, then I'll cheer.

^That's true, I stand corrected! 

Better spray the shovels with WD-40 guys.  I sense that things will begin to happen fast after the first of the year. :clap:

....and if that happens, then I will cheer.

O-H !!!!!

O-H?

I O

See.... LittleItalyCleveland got it!  C'mon KJP.... gotta get your cheer spirit warmed up.

 

 

Thank god. I've been saying we need light rail for years, and perhaps our fiscally conservative voters here in Cincinnati will choose to use Obama and the current economic situation to get not only regional light rail but this state-wide hub!

See.... LittleItalyCleveland got it! C'mon KJP.... gotta get your cheer spirit warmed up.

 

Sorry, I don't follow college football closely enough to remember the cheers.

Do we need a 3-C thread, or does this one suffice?? And I sure hope Dublin and Hilliard will be content with a bus link to the train.

______________________

 

http://www.columbuslocalnews.com/articles/2008/11/10/multiple_papers/news/allcolrail_20081107_0607pm_1.txt

 

Rail travel could get back on track with federal dollars

Amtrak is studying which communities would serve as ideal stops in a Cleveland-to-Cincinnati link; Hilliard and Dublin are interested.

By EILEEN RYAN

Published: Sunday, November 9, 2008 10:05 AM EST

 

The prospect of the new administration in Washington, D.C., has brought renewed funding hopes to Ohio's plan for a passenger rail line along the Cleveland-to-Cincinnati corridor.

 

The densely populated stretch from Cleveland to Columbus to Cincinnati that also encompasses Springfield and Dayton could see passengers whizzing back and forth daily in as few as two or three years, said Stu Nicholson, spokesman for the Ohio Rail Development Commission.

 

That is Gov. Ted Strickland's hope, Nicholson said.

 

"That's a real pressurized timeline," he said -- but that's good.

 

CLICK ON THE LINK FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE...

Good stuff.  That is an aggressive schedule.  2-3 years, up and running sounds good to me though.

The only problem with the story is that she makes it sound like Ohio will get $1.9-Billion, which is not at all the case.  That's the total amount of initial dollars in the grant program for all states to draw upon.... based on having funding-ready projects.

This sounds very good, but isn't there still an issue with the freight railroads in terms of capacity and insurance?  If Akron-Canton are included, wouldn't it be a rerouting that would nix the Hopkins airport tie in?

It would. But the question is going to come up, especially from legislators in the Akron and Canton area, on why can't the trains run via their communities? It makes sense to give them the answer when the overall planning work is done a year from now, rather than spend more time and money later on which delaying the implementation.

I think it would be best to try to keep the 3-C as focused on the C's, especially for any sort of express. The second phase would make a local 3-C that hooks up with Akron-Canton, Mansfield?, Springfield, Dayton, and Hamilton/Lebanon.

^I believe the track they are looking to use travels through Hamilton and Dayton (travels near Tri-County Mall) so it's dumb not to stop there.  The shorter route between Cincinnati and Columbus is the B&O line which travels through Indian Hill and Loveland.  If that were used a station in Loveland or near I-275 would make sense.  Anywhere where the trains are not traveling at top speed, a station stop hurts overall travel time less. 

An excellent story by Columbus Alive on the state of passenger rail in Ohio.

 

On the right track

Thursday,  November 13, 2008 5:28 AM

By John Ross

Columbus Alive

 

On the morning of Sept. 30, 1979, an Amtrak passenger train left Kansas City and sped east through the heartland: across central Missouri to St. Louis, up through Illinois and Indiana and into western Ohio. En route to New York City, the locomotive entered Columbus and ground slowly to a halt amid the industrial abyss beneath Downtown's Fourth Street overpass.

 

Just two years prior, the National Limited would have raced into Union Station, a High Street depot once heralded as one of the most stunning in the country. But the station was gone - razed to make room for a Downtown convention center - so this train came to a stop at a windowless, metal hut surrounded by overgrown shrubs.

 

 

 

Read more at:

 

http://www.columbusalive.com/live/content/features/stories/2008/11/13/ca_u_train.html

"Next October will be 30 years - three generations who have never even seen passenger rail in Columbus."

 

So ten year olds are breeding now?  I thought a "generation" was a little more than ten years. /snark

Ha! :-D

 

But seriously, that is a problem.  Even if you are old enough to remember the last trains through anywhere in Central Ohio, it wasn't a good memory.  The early days of Amtrak had a passenger railroad that used nothing but hand-me-down passenger cars and locomotives from the freight railroads...and little of it was in good repair.

 

For the generations since then, a passenger train (unless they've been overseas or ridden one elsewhere) is as foreign as zebra strolling down High Street at high noon.  That's where this story really serves a purpose. Columbus Alive reaches a very young demographic: one that is looking for transportation options like no generation before it.

November 25, 2008

 

Leaders discuss whether railroad a good fit in Richland County

By LISA MILLER

News Journal (Mansfield)

 

MANSFIELD -- To get on-board with potential rail systems in Ohio and the Midwest, the community needs to figure out what its assets are.

 

"Mansfield brings something very significant to the table. You all have to figure out what that is," Stuart Nicholson, public information officer for the Ohio Rail Development Commission, said Monday.

 

....

 

BY THE NUMBERS

 

 

The Ohio Hub Economic Impact Study concludes that over 30 years, the project will:

 

Create 17,700 permanent jobs.

 

Raise the region's net income by over $1 billion.

 

Increase the region's average annual household income by at least $90.

 

Generate more than $3 billion in development activity near stations.

 

Create an annual $80-million impact on state tourism by generating 320,000 overnight trips.

 

Generate an annual fuel savings of about 9.4 million gallons.

 

Source: The Ohio & Lake Erie Regional Rail Ohio Hub Study

 

 

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20081125/NEWS01/811250315/1002