Recent content by Johnepants

I think the article here gives me the first hope for expansion in the Buckeye State. I feel like the state government is more receptive to it since the upfront start up costs would be handled, any any concerns will come from long term ridership numbers...

I could think of worse stations to have an impromptu layover than Albany. I really like their station and can’t imagine how bad things where when they had that Buffalo/Depew clone

And honestly, let’s face it, an automobile is one piece of property in this country that regular people can still afford and own with relative ease. There will always be a segment of American culture that will never view the train as a viable form of transportation because they already have the...

The highway system is paid for by numerous state and federal taxes, and the most traveled roads are pay roads i.e Turnpikes. Hell, the Ohio Turnpike is one of the best maintained roads in America. But I will reliably stand behind my anecdotes because I speak with real people in the middle of...

A good, comprehensive regional corridor plan would be great for a state like Ohio. It’s why I support Amtrak’s plan for new corridor service through Cleveland. I believe a 3C train would have more success and higher ridership if those passengers could make connections that take them elsewhere...

I think this take is more realistic than some of the loco ones I have read claiming Republicans want power and preventing the building of a 19th mode of transportation denies people that power. The biggest problem with train travel in America is that people across the political spectrum don’t...

I have taken Coach from CLE to Boston and CLE to DC in the last few years and really didn’t have any issues. My return trip from DC was crowded, but they allowed me to hang out in the lounge as long as I acknowledged that I would be back in my seat before my destination. My initial trip to DC...

Finally glad to see someone give a reasonable response to why 3C failed. I think now it has a better chance to succeed with the current plan Amtrak put forth since there would be better connections to other corridors and long distance trains. More towns with service means more state...

As much as I love the charm of being in the late night dump, Cleveland Lakefront station will need to be replaced if Amtrak gets the green light to increase capacity from 4 trains to 22. There is just no way it can be done with the current station.

I always believed that a successful 3C corridor could open up the possibility of a new national north south train that could go to either New Orleans or Florida. But I’m probably just having a pipe dream

let me rephrase, I hope that it does not cannibalize LSL ridership

That’s good to know. I would hate to lose either of those long haul lines. I guess I just hope that creating a CLE to NY corridor over the existing LSL could cannibalize ridership. Whereas the corridor through Pitt services Philly I would assume and gives another destination city that...

Also, it may require movement and a redo of the Rapid Transit onto their temporary tracks

Most of the old rail yard is a parking garage and lot. Those could be repurposed, but would take some reconstruction and would definitely need new tracks. My biggest concern with Union Terminal is that the new federal courthouse from the 90’s was built in an area that may make it a point of...

As someone who is pretty conservative overall, I find myself to be more center left on rail travel as long as the plans make sense, and don’t lead to worthless pieces of billion dollar garbage like California’s high speed line. Overall, think this plan has the best chance of success, because it...