(The following story by Jim DeBrosse appeared on the Dayton Daily News website on May 23, 2009.)
DAYTON, Ohio — Fourteen states now have state-supported Amtrak passenger service, including Ohio’s neighbors Michigan, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Until last fall’s economic dive, all three states have seen steady and even double-digit growth in train ridership since 2003, according to Amtrak data. All three are expanding their rail systems.
“I think we’re seeing a Renaissance of rail travel, not only in Illinois but across the country,” said George Weber, chief of railroads for the Illinois Department of Transportation. Illinois’ three rail routes moved 1.5 million people last year at a state operating cost of $28 million, he said. “We’re still seeing double-digit (ridership) growth on some routes.”
But will it work for Ohio?
Rail advocates here shout yes, especially now that billions in federal stimulus money will soon be dispersed for rail development. After 30 years of state rail studies, they say Ohio is primed for its own state-funded 3-C Corridor system from Cincinnati through Dayton, Springfield and Columbus and on up to Cleveland. After all, they argue, 5 to 6 million people live in the cities and counties along that 260-mile route, a far denser population than many in-state systems.
“It’s the acid test for Ohio,” said Jack Shaner of the Ohio Environmental Council, a long-time advocate for passenger rail service in Ohio. “Are we content to be a flyover state, or do we want to get on the map?”
But outspoken rail critics, such as state Sen. Tom Patton, R-Strongsville, argue that trains work best in states with large metropolitan areas, like Chicago and Philadelphia, where the hassles of traffic congestion and the cost of parking make rail an attractive alternative. “That’s not the situation in Ohio,” he said. “This is a solution in search of a problem.”
The Ohio Rail Development Commission plans to start small with conventional passenger service along the 3-C Corridor that could be upgraded someday to high-speed. With hopes of receiving $250 million in rail improvement funds and another $10 million in operating money from the federal stimulus program, the commission believes a conventional rail route can be launched without state funding, at least in its first few years.
Trains on a conventional rail system would reach 80 mph and complete the 260-mile route in about four to six hours, depending on how much money is spent to improve the existing rails and how many sidings are built to help passenger and freight trains share the track, state rail officials say.
Amtrak, which would operate the passenger service under state contract, will release the results of a ridership and revenue study by the end of August. Meanwhile, the Woodside Consulting Group of California will produce by November a computer model of how passenger and freight trains could best share the route. If all goes according to plan, state rail officials say the 3-C Corridor could be up and running by mid-2011.
Fares have yet to be determined, but state officials say Amtrak customer fares average 14 cents per passenger mile. For the 50-mile trip from Dayton to Cincinnati, that’s $7 for a one-way ticket. For the 75-mile trip up to Columbus, it’s $10.50 one-way.
A far stickier issue will be determining the train stop locations. Local communities along the route — including Dayton, Riverside, Fairborn and West Carrollton — are lobbying Amtrak and the rail commission for their own stops.
It’s easy to see why. Passenger rail is a potent generator of development. In North Carolina, construction and revitalization of local train stations paid out $94 million in wages and another $16 million in local property taxes. Maine is planning to invest $31.5 million to extend its Downeaster service, and expects to draw $7.2 billion in investment along the new route by 2030.
State rail officials have assured the city of Dayton it will have a stop as one of the major cities along the 3-C Corridor. Dayton officials say they are scouting a boarding site along the downtown tracks between Sinclair Community College and the Dayton Convention Center.
But whether the Dayton area gets a second stop, and where, is unclear, state and local officials say. Stuart Nicholson, a spokesman for the Ohio Rail Development Commission, said planners must balance potential ridership against slowing the train service with too many stops.
“Dayton will more than likely have more than one stop, but where that stop will be no one can say at this point,” he said.
Before finalizing its plan, the 15-member rail commission — a bi-partisan group of transportation officials and appointees by the governor and General Assembly — will listen carefully to local input while weighing the results of the Amtrak and Woodside studies, Nicholson said. But, ultimately, the number and location of train stops must be approved by the Ohio General Assembly and signed by the governor.
Officials in Riverside believe they have the strongest claim to the Dayton area’s second stop. They argue that with existing track directly across Springfield Street from the U.S. Air Force Museum, the Riverside location stands to generate the most passengers for the new service. As the state’s third-largest tourist attraction with 1.3 million visitors a year, “the museum doesn’t need the rail system, but the rail system needs the museum,” said Riverside City Manager Bob Murray.
Meanwhile, Fairborn City Manager Deborah McDonnell argues that her city’s proximity to Wright State University and the headquarters of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base make it an ideal location for a stop. And in West Carrollton, economic development director Bill Colvell says his city has an historic train station that could be renovated into an attractive hub for suburban residents looking to travel in style to Cincinnati Reds and Bengals games.
Murray said local in-fighting over the second stop’s location will only hurt the region’s prospects. Riverside already is talking to the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority and Greene CATS about providing bus service from a planned train station and parking garage in Riverside to the base and Wright State University.
“From a regional standpoint, we need to stand together on this,” Murray said.
The Environmental Council’s Shaner said he’s thrilled that local communities “are staging beauty contests” for state rail officials. He predicted bidding wars among localities willing to share tax revenues with the state as well as the cost of marketing and building the train stops.
“It’s music to our ears,” he said. “When the lawmakers start getting an earful from these local chambers of commerce and community leaders, that’s what’s going to put (the rail plan) over the top.”