Passenger-train supporters reacted positively to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s recent announcement that the state would seek federal funds to study two new train routes, though one local advocate’s response was more guarded.
The state’s intent to nominate lines linking Toledo with Cleveland and Detroit and connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati is “a step in the right direction, for sure,” said Joe Cappel, vice president of development for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, which among other things owns Toledo’s train station.
“There’s still a long way to go, and we hope the state is successful,” Mr. Cappel said. From the studies the federal money will pay for, he said, “we’ll all get a better idea of what the opportunity might be.”
But Tim Porter, chairman of the Northwest Ohio Passenger Rail Association, said he believes most local passenger-rail advocates are taking a “wait-and-see” approach toward the governor’s announcement.
“I do not believe his administration will take any significant actions,” Mr. Porter, of Sylvania, said. “Natural gas production and ‘only highways in Ohio’ made his pedestal.... I hope he proves my pessimism wrong.”
Governor DeWine announced last week he had directed the Ohio Rail Development Commission to apply for the first phase of federal funding to study expansion of passenger train service along two Ohio corridors. If the grants are approved, the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development program would provide up to $500,000 for examination of each corridor.
“This is the first step of many in this process,” Mr. DeWine said. “We have a lot of questions that need to be answered before we make any commitments. The information we gather from this effort will help us make informed decisions about federal opportunities for passenger rail in Ohio.”
Wende Jourdan, the state rail commission’s spokesman, said the Cleveland-Cincinnati and Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit corridors were selected for the state’s application from routes identified last year in Amtrak’s ConnectsUS concept for new or expanded train service across the United States.
The state “chose these two because they are responsive to stakeholder feedback and have the potential to generate the most ridership among the corridors,” Ms. Jourdan said. “They also make connections that are not currently served by passenger rail.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) said he will work with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg “to make sure Ohio gets its fair share, or more” of the FRA grant funding.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law made billions of dollars available so states like Ohio can expand passenger rail service,” Senator Brown said in a prepared statement. “Expanding Amtrak in Ohio, whether along current routes or by connecting Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati, would transform our state’s economy and improve mobility for all Ohioans.”
“I applaud efforts to enhance and boost the safety of both commercial and passenger rail, and appreciate leaders moving past partisanship for the strength of Ohio,” said U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), also in a prepared statement.
Cleveland and Cincinnati have not been connected by passenger trains since before Amtrak took over most intercity service in the United States on May 1, 1971.
Ohio under then-Gov. Ted Strickland was awarded $400 million in federal funding in the late 2000s to develop what was then referred to as the “Three-C” Corridor, including the cost of track and signal construction, stations, and equipment. But among Gov. John Kasich’s first actions after defeating Mr. Strickland in the 2010 election was a declaration canceling that project and returning the federal funding on the grounds that Ohio’s ongoing obligation to subsidize train operations would be too high.
Amtrak currently operates two round trip trains in each direction between Cleveland and Toledo as part of longer routes between Chicago and the East Coast. But those trains are all scheduled to travel across Ohio during the overnight hours. Amtrak canceled its only Toledo-Detroit train service in 1995, although it still provides connecting buses to and from Michigan cities from Toledo.
Stu Nicholson, executive director of the statewide advocacy group All Aboard Ohio, said that while it’s easy to get frustrated with Ohio’s train track record, he believes “this is for real” and noted that while a U.S. senator, Mr. DeWine was “consistently a supporter of Amtrak” and was a paid member of what was then the Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers.
“What John Kasich did ... is pretty much burned into everyone’s memory, and there have been so many studies,” Mr. Nicholson said, but Mr. DeWine’s hesitance to announce his administration’s strategy for the current federal funding may have been a matter of holding off until he was confident a rail plan would garner enough legislative support that a new planning effort wouldn’t become another dead end.
Statements by an array of mayors and regional planning agencies that they might seek the FRA money on their own, furthermore, told the governor “we’re supporting this whether you take the lead or not,” Mr. Nicholson said.
It is conceivable that those agencies still will seek their own federal grants for corridors not cited in Mr. DeWine’s announcement, he said, including Cleveland-Buffalo, Cleveland-Pittsburgh, Detroit-Toledo-Columbus, and Columbus-Lima-Fort Wayne-Chicago.
Mr. Nicholson also called on the governor to establish a separate, cabinet-level agency to oversee passenger trains and other forms of public transportation in Ohio.
“Let ODOT do what it does best, and let this agency do the same for rail and public transit,” he said while contending that the transportation department and rail commission are “not set up to go after funding for or manage projects of this scope.”
First Published February 13, 2023, 1:30 p.m.
