There are many enticing projects in the proposed federal infrastructure package, including some with the potential to boost the Toledo area’s economic development. Bringing them to fruition is likely to take some boosting from the state and local level.
Among the most promising elements of the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan introduced in late March is a proposed expansion of Amtrak service through Toledo.
In general, the Amtrak expansion in the Midwest focuses on improving access through Chicago, which is good news for Toledo.
Currently, Amtrak operates three routes in Ohio, all of which send trains through the state overnight as they move between Chicago and the East Coast. Pandemic-related cuts last year left Toledo with two pairs of Amtrak trains stopping in Toledo during the wee hours just three times each week.
The new proposal for Amtrak in Ohio calls for — among other things — morning, midday, and evening service on both a Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit route and one linking Cleveland with Columbus and Cincinnati. Much of the plan echoes an Obama-era proposal to create Amtrak service linking the state’s three largest cities that died for lack of support from the administration of then-Gov. John Kasich.
That experience should be an important reminder to state and local leaders that the improved Amtrak service on the drawing board now will likely not come to fruition without local support. What form that local support will have to take remains to be seen. Certainly at the very least local leaders who understand the benefits of improved access to Toledo by train should be standing up to sound their approval. When local initiatives to support the deal come along — be they partnerships or bills in the state General Assembly — Ohio’s officials must step up for improved Amtrak service.
A smart transportation system of the future will be built on multiple modes of transit. Toledo demonstrated its understanding of this when authorities invested in the current train station to consolidate both Amtrak and Greyhound stations in the same location several years ago.
More Amtrak service coming through Toledo at more convenient times will be a boon to the region. Train access is an asset that will appeal to businesses looking to locate or expand here and to the work force and families we want to attract here. Making it easier to get around Ohio, the Midwest, and the nation via train also takes cars off Ohio’s roads, making it easier to maintain them.
The proposed Amtrak expansion is an opportunity for the Toledo region. We should get on board.
First Published April 7, 2021, 4:00 a.m.
