Ohio finally starts the process for new Amtrak service

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Lord! I wish I could railtravel from JAX to ATL to Cincinnati. Who cares if it takes 24 hours.
A line straight up from the south would be pretty neat to see as well @Jdub !

It would be cool if it stopped in Nashville, TN, Lexington, KY, and then up to Cincinnati, OH. That would be a neat route from JAX!
 
This is great news. At one time Amtrak served many cities in the state of Ohio including Canton, Lima on the old Broadway Ltd route (tracks still there) and even reached Ft Wayne in Indiana while going on to Chicago. There was talk about restoring passenger service on this line a few years back but that hasn't resulted in anything so far.
The National Ltd once served both Columbus and Dayton and took a more direct route from NYC to St Louis and Kansas City. At one time I believe there was also a connection to the SWC.
There have been many rail studies done on adding new Amtrak routes in OH but the only room I see may be on the old Broadway Ltd mainline that runs freight service. That line was and still may be double tracked much of the way.
 
It looks like there is more hope for increased Amtrak service to the Ohio region.

Columbus included in $1 million Amtrak expansion funding

According to the article, it looks like "more studies" will be done (which I know, that's all we've been hearing of any other news relating to this: studies, studies, and more studies) to look further into the 3C+D (discussed in this article), so I'm not sure what headway is being made. Unless, I missed something in the article? I'm hoping to see an Amtrak train happen through Columbus sometime in my life though.

Also, from the previous post that @leccy talked about, if a Pittsburgh to Chicago route through Columbus comes to fruition, that line would probably need to be improved to accommodate passenger rail through it.
 
It seems sometimes studies are just a way to throw a bone to pro rail folks and make it appear that something is being done without spending a lot of money and not actually accomplishing anything, plus not stepping on any NIMBY toes. I am hoping that these studies are serious and actually intended to lead to shovels in the ground. Hopefully if C3+D has already been studied then these studies can build on that and be done sooner.

Too bad that articles such as the one linked above have to go to Europe to find suitable pictures of modern rail infrastructure :(
 
Plenty could be found here. This is simple media ignorance. I have seen articles about freight train derailments or other issues that have pictures from random European lines stuffed in the article.
Why would we expect any better from the learned gang that inevitably thinks that the Conductors steers the train. Even more so with European ones which have their throttle look like a steering wheel :D
 
It looks like there is more hope for increased Amtrak service to the Ohio region.

Columbus included in $1 million Amtrak expansion funding

According to the article, it looks like "more studies" will be done (which I know, that's all we've been hearing of any other news relating to this: studies, studies, and more studies) to look further into the 3C+D (discussed in this article), so I'm not sure what headway is being made. Unless, I missed something in the article? I'm hoping to see an Amtrak train happen through Columbus sometime in my life though.
I usually question populist sentiments about how easy things are to do. Especially with our current standards of health, safety and environmental care, study and design and review do take a little longer.
But in this case, I agree: I am wondering why this is taking so long. Especially because, as far as I know, the rights of ways and tracks already exist. There was passenger rail in Ohio 170 years ago, I don't think it should be that hard to just start the trains rolling.
 
It sometimes seems the studies go on in perpetuity. Establishing service on an existing Norfolk Southern freight route like the old Broadway Ltd route through Ohio and Indiana would involve rehab of the stations, adding additional signaling, a few switches and PTC. The line is double tracked some of the way so passing sidings may not be needed. Then we get back to the rolling stock required. If this is to become a reality Amtrak will need to move fast but that seldom if ever happens.
 
Somewhat off topic, but this is an example of a study phase that seems to be way too long:

https://www.soundtransit.org/system-expansion/ballard-link-extension/timeline-milestones
The planning phase for a light rail extension in Seattle is scheduled to last from 2017 to 2026---followed by design from 2026 to 2030. I am willing to believe that things are always more complicated than they seem, but I don't understand how simply planning a light rail extension under a dozen miles takes 10 years of planning, even before the design phase begins.
 
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Off topic, but this is an example of a study phase that seems to be way too long:

https://www.soundtransit.org/system-expansion/ballard-link-extension/timeline-milestones
The planning phase for a light rail extension in Seattle is scheduled to last from 2017 to 2026---followed by design from 2026 to 2030. I am willing to believe that things are always more complicated than they seem, but I don't understand how simply planning a light rail extension under a dozen miles takes 10 years of planning, even before the design phase begins.
That is how long it takes the children of Consultants to go through private school and Ivy League College. Someone’s gotta foot the bill 😬🤪
 
I know there's a lot of work of the infrastructure to be done IF this happens after the studies are complete, such as track realignments, new track here and there, and of course stations to be built.

With all of things on the "To Do" list to be done, unfortunately action will be still a long time away. I'm glad to see that there as at least more interest and attention on this though, even though they are still at the moment "just studies."
 
That is how long it takes the children of Consultants to go through private school and Ivy League College. Someone’s gotta foot the bill 😬🤪
Actually, the grunts doing the work are paid about half the billing rate that the Consultant sends to the agency. The rest goes to "overhead" and usually a fairly minimal profit. Let your imagination go as to what is in the overhead. As to Ivy League Colleges, if any of mine has proposed such a thing, I would be inclined to shoot them to put them out of my misery. All went to various state U's frequently with a junior college in front of it, except one who went to a Catholic college because he could live with relatives cheaply. (Another surprise, since I was working overseas at the time, all potential choices required the payment of out-of-state tuition.)
 
6 years to get service ? Ridiculous ! Only if equipment is not available can that be a valid reason. If equipment not available, then the disorganization of Congress and Amtrak management is the cause.
 
The local governments and organizations pushed the state to ask for funds for studies. The Toledo area is cooperating with the Detroit area.

The result, December 2023:

The corridors that will receive the funding for planning include:

Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati, the 3C+D corridor

Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit

Chicago-Fort Wayne-Columbus-Pittsburgh, the Midwest Connect corridor via Lima, Kenton, Marysville, Columbus, Newark, Coshocton, Newcomerstown, Uhrichsville, and Steubenville in Ohio

Daily Cardinal Service

Two of the selected corridors, 3C+D and Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit, were sponsored by the Ohio Rail Development Commission with the endorsement of Governor DeWine. The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) helped sponsor the Midwest Connect corridor, and Amtrak sponsored the Daily Cardinal Service application.

An improvement in Ohio policy. States can submit state freight and pax rail plans to the FRA every four years (50 including DC do, some older than four years; HI does not). Ohio's is from 2019. Reed it and weep, as my teachers used to say.

3.4 LOCALLY SPONSORED RAIL PLANNING EFFORTS
Although as of 2018 the State of Ohio is not investigating new passenger rail services, local entities have sponsored several planning initiatives...

3.4.1 Northern Indiana/Ohio Passenger Rail Initiative

Developed under the auspices of the Northern Indiana Passenger Rail Association (NIPRA), a feasibility study of a northern Indiana/Ohio rail corridor was completed in 2013. In 2015, agencies representing nine cities between Chicago and Columbus entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to create the Northern Indiana/Ohio Passenger Rail Initiative.

The NIPRA effort has focused on a passenger line connecting Chicago and Columbus via Lima and Fort Wayne, Indiana... In 2016, NIPRA through the City of Fort Wayne received approval from FRA to conduct pre-NEPA work on the segment between Lima and Tolleston (Gary) Indiana. NIPRA raised $350,000 from entities along the corridor including the City of Lima...

This environmental work serves as an alternative to a Tier I Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Because most of the infrastructure work would be within a preexisting rail right-of-way, a full Tier I EIS would not be necessary. The next step would be to enter the formal NEPA process, conduct outreach, and begin more detailed analysis of the route for the next stage of the NEPA procedure.

The route of the proposed passenger service would be on rail lines owned by CSX, and project sponsors would need to reach an agreement with CSX to access and improve these rail lines for the project to be feasible.

3.4.2 Rapid-Speed Transportation Initiative

In 2018, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) announced that it will undertake a Rapid-Speed Transportation Initiative to analyze the feasibility of passenger rail in the Chicago- Columbus-Pittsburgh corridor...

Passenger Rail. The study will include content for a future Tier I EIS for a passenger rail corridor between Lima and Pittsburgh via Columbus. This will complement work done by NIPRA for the segment between Tolleston (Gary) and Lima...

Hyperloop. Hyperloop technology, which is currently in the initial stage of development, would involve freight or passenger pods travelling at extremely high speeds within sealed vacuum tubes. MORPC is partnering with Virgin Hyperloop One, a private company that is currently in the process of developing a proprietary hyperloop technology. In 2016, MORPC organized the signatories of the initiative as Midwest Connect to submit a proposal for Virgin Hyperloop One’s Global Challenge. In 2017, MORPC was selected one of ten finalists.

3.4.3 Great Lakes Hyperloop Feasibility Study

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) is completing a project to assess the technical and financial feasibility of a hyperloop between Chicago and the Cleveland area. NOACA is partnering with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), a private company that is developing a hyperloop technology, to complete this $1.2 million feasibility study. The study is expected to be complete by spring of 2019.

3.4.4 Toledo – Detroit Passenger Rail Feasibility

The City of Toledo and Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments are completing a study to assess the feasibility of a passenger rail link between Toledo and the Detroit area. The study will examine potential connections from Toledo to Detroit 3 Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Council (NOACA) AIM Forward 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and the cities of Detroit and Ann Arbor.
 
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