Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says Columbus passenger rail is unstoppable. Discover what the 3C&D and Midwest Connect lines mean for Ohio's future.

How community and advocacy locally supports connectivity statewide. Get involved in a chapter in many Ohio cities.

Something is shifting in Ohio. For decades, passenger rail has lived in conversation, in planning documents, in long-term strategies, and in “someday” language that felt important but distant. The ideas were sound, the case was strong, but the momentum often felt just out of reach.

Today, Amtrak’s 55th anniversary isn’t all that’s being celebrated. The U.S. is experiencing a veritable resurgence of passenger rail which some have described as a renaissance. Demand is at an all-time high, and routes from the west coast to the east coast are reporting unprecedented volumes of passengers. Rather than fighting to preserve a dying train network, Amtrak is breaking its own records every year.

The funding that kickstarted Ohio’s passenger rail renaissance has an expiration date. A new analysis from the Eno Center reveals why returning to the budget models of the past could derail the 3C&D corridor just as it gains momentum—and that we must demand multi-year appropriations to keep the project on track.