Amtrak Pushes For Rail Service In Columbus And Dayton!

Amtrak is hoping to bring passenger rail service to Ohio's two forgotten cities. This is forgotten gem of passenger train service in Dayton.

 

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Amtrak wants to return to two Ohio cities that lost rail service over 40 years ago.

President Joe Biden is an avid supporter of Amtrak and is pushing for greener energy and smart infrastructure through the American Jobs Plan. The president is hoping to get Amtrak to build back better.

Norfolk Southern Railroad abandoned six miles of track east of Dayton. The city wants to turn it from rail-to-trail. The cost of the rail is over 5 million but the city wants to negotiate it for less than that. It's been abandoned for over 15 years.

I was born in 1980. That would be about the time Amtrak officially left the city of Dayton. The line that connected New York to Kansas City passed through Dayton and the larger city of Columbus. Train service ceased soon after. Then freight rail services CSX and Norfolk Southern officially abandoned rail lines in parts of Dayton. 

Now Amtrak is keen on getting passenger rail service back to these cities by 2025.

"This is a chance to rectify what we see as a great omission in Amtrak's rail network," said Stephen Gardner, Amtrak President at a press conference with Ohio mayors and town planners. "Our goal here is to achieve this vision by 2025, and we are looking for support at local level and federal partners, creating long-term partners."

Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn said they had spent the last three years developing this strategy.

The rail services are mostly focused on shipping goods from Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Toronto and Columbus.  

Columbus is the 14th largest city in the country. It has a population of 1.02 million people. 

Columbus and Phoenix with a population of 1.9 million have no Amtrak service.

Republican governor Karen DeWine is not too keen on bringing Amtrak back to Columbus and Dayton.

Ohio had an opportunity during former governor Karen Kasich's administration to accept $400 million in federal high-speed rail funding and begin a passenger program by 2012. This time the situation is different, with the push coming from Amtrak rather than from advocates within the state, said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley at the press conference announcement.

Dayton used to have an Amtrak station over 40 years. It appears the train service wants to come back.

Whaley is running for governor of Ohio and is no longer interesting in ruining Dayton.

Amtrak was created 50 years ago to create the network that connects the country. They have 32 million riders on state-supported routes and corridors. The company works in partnership with states and communities, and it will need local support in Ohio to give the best service.

Mayors from three Ohio cities — Dayton, Crestline, Cleveland — took part in the conference, as well as the Executive Director of the Mid-Ohio Planning Commission, with Mayor Andrew Ginther of Columbus sending a letter of support.

At the moment, assuming Amtrak has rights under law, its trains can travel at 79 miles per hour maximum along the route. Although Ohio lost its passenger rail from Columbus, its freight capability is well-established.

"Our aim is to get to and deliver trip-time competitive service to within half hour give or take driving time," said Gardner. "And the time on the train is productive time," he said, pointing out that: "…the younger generation is not interested in driving."

"This route has infrastructure. If you look at 1950s and 60s those trip times were done. It will take commitment and support. If we have that in place, we are ready to focus aggressively to making service in Ohio happen." Gardner said.

William Murdock, of MORPC said that the prosperity of the region depends on this infrastructure. "Not being on that network puts us at a disadvantage. We don't have minimum infrastructure compared with places that we compete with.

"In Columbus, we've been focused on building connections and giving people robust options if they don't want to drive or can't fly. We know our residents and businesses are both clamoring for this.

"Amtrak looking at Ohio and investing in Ohio makes a lot of sense. This makes common sense. It's really important to rural areas and smaller metros to give them access to jobs and services.

"This corridor is one of the most strong potential ridership markets that Amtrak can look at. If we can't add passenger rail, we can't leverage hubs like Wright-Patt. Passenger rail gives us an opportunity to improve freight at the same time. Things are mutually compatible. We have 30 major letters of support from cities that want the interior of Ohio served," Murdock said.