Ohio still waiting for passenger rail expansion
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Reader Jay T. asks: Is there any more recent news on the project to expand passenger rail in Ohio?
It's been more than 40 years since the last passenger train left Columbus — and work continues to bring trains back, eventually. Riders will just need to be patient.
Why it matters: We're one of America's biggest cities without passenger rail.
- Proposals to restore train travel could pay huge dividends for local tourism and workforce development, transit advocates tell us.
Catch up quick: The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure package, signed into law by President Biden, allocates billions of dollars toward expanding rail service.
- Since then, states and regional planning commissions have applied for federal funding to study proposed rail corridors across the U.S.
Zoom in: Two such corridors involve Central Ohio.
- The state applied for a "3C&D" line that would connect Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton.
- The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) applied for a "Midwest Connect" line to link Columbus to Fort Wayne and Chicago to the west and Pittsburgh to the east.
The intrigue: Midwest Connect could someday include stops at John Glenn International Airport and smaller cities like Dublin, Hilliard and Newark, MORPC executive director William Murdock tells us.
- These projects would help Central Ohio shed its economic "competitive disadvantage" by attracting a skilled workforce able to travel to work without a car, Murdock argues.
- He envisions a stop east of Columbus to serve employees of the new Intel plant in Licking County.
The latest: The Federal Railroad Administration plans to announce corridor selections in either November or December, spokesperson William Wong tells Axios.
What they're saying: Stu Nicholson, executive director of the advocacy group All Aboard Ohio, says he's eager to eventually see some progress made after many years of discussion.
- "We've got a half a dozen irons in the fire for passenger rail in Ohio," Nicholson tells us. "Let's stop talking about stuff and get stuff built."
The big picture: This is just an initial step. Projects would still require environmental and engineering reviews, plus the eventual infrastructure work.
- Nicholson estimates the best case scenario is for trains to be running through Columbus in about five years, though it could very well take longer.