(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Matt Leingang on February 7, 2010.)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state is to get $400 million in federal stimulus money to restore passenger train service among its majorcities, part of a plan to build a national high-speed rail network.
Ohio’s project calls for a startup, 79-mph service connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati beginning in 2012. Is that fast enough? Who will ride it? Here are some answers:
Q: Why only 79 mph?
A: It takes up to two years to complete the extensive engineering needed for faster trains, said Stu Nicholson, spokesman with the Ohio Rail Development Commission, the agency in charge of the project. Those studies are getting under way. Ohio’s goal is for a 110-mph service, with branches connecting to a Chicago-based Midwest corridor and cities on the East Coast.
Q: Is there money for that?
A: Federal money, but Ohio will have to compete with other states to get it. There’s about $2.5 billion for rail projects in the 2010 federal appropriations bill. President Barack Obama’s 2011 budget proposal seeks $1 billion more. And a proposed $500 billion, six-year federal transportation bill includes $50 billion for high-speed rail, though that sum isn’t certain.
Q: How many trains will run in Ohio?
A: Amtrak recommends five train sets, making three daily stops in each city. Amtrak projects 478,000 riders in the first year of operations.
Q: Where will the trains stop?
A: Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton would have downtown stations. The initial Cincinnati stop would be at Lunken Airport, a few miles east of downtown. The plan also calls for intermediate stops in west Cleveland and in Sharonville, north of Cincinnati.
Nicholson said the state is working with local transit systems so that train passengers can make connections to their final destinations.
Q: Why aren’t Toledo, Akron, Youngstown and other parts of the state included in the startup?
A: Decades of studies point to the Cleveland-Cincinnati corridor as the best place to begin service because of its population density — about 6 million people live along the route — and its concentration of colleges and universities. Future routes, including Toledo-Columbus and Cleveland-Pittsburgh, are being studied.
Q: Who will ride the startup service?
A: College students figure to be a strong component, according to an Amtrak study. Other key demographics include seniors, some business travelers, tourists and people who don’t have cars or whose cars aren’t reliable, Nicholson said.
Q: How long will the trip take?
A: About 6 hours and 30 minutes, according to Amtrak estimates. That’s about what it would take to drive the same corridor, but longer than a more direct route between Cleveland and Cincinnati on Interstate 71 that takes 4 1/2 hours by car.
Q: How much will tickets cost?
A: About $20 for a one-way trip from Columbus to Cleveland, and $18 from Columbus to Cincinnati, based on early state estimates.
Q: What else is this going to cost?
A: Ohio would need to spend about $17 million to keep the service operational each year.
Q: Where will Ohio get the money for that?
A: State rail planners are looking at various options, including advertising and naming rights. The Ohio Department of Transportation also has money from a federal program that supports projects that reduce highway congestion and improve air quality, spokesman Scott Varner said.
Q: How does $17 million compare with other transportation costs?
A: Ohio’s transportation budget sets aside $5.7 billion for road, bridge and highway maintenance and construction for 2010-11. Over the next 10 to 15 years, the state’s three biggest projects are a $1.6 billion reconstruction of Interstate 90 in Cleveland; a $1.6 billion reconfiguration ofInterstates 70/71 in Columbus; and a $2.3 billion replacement of the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati, with Kentucky sharing the cost.
Q: What’s next?
A: The state Controlling Board will need to approve spending the $400 million in stimulus money, which should arrive by spring. Democrats control the board 4-3, but they will need at least one Republican to vote yes because Senate Republicans placed an amendment in Ohio’s transportation budget last year requiring a super majority vote.
GOP leaders have said they won’t object to the train project as long as the state has a solid financial plan.