MAYORS, CITIES AND PLANNING AGENCIES COMMIT TO RECONNECTING OHIO WITH PASSENGER RAIL

Columbus, OH – In a broad display of support for passenger rail service in Ohio, a bi-partisan coalition of Ohio mayors along with several of Ohio’s regional planning agencies have formally requested the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)to include a list of Ohio rail lines in its Corridor Identification Program.

Regional planning commissions and cities are eligible to later apply for FRA grants to develop these corridors for actual passenger service. Their “Expressions of Interest” are an important step in getting official federal recognition of existing and future passenger rail corridors in and through Ohio.

Amtrak first proposed a major expansion of service nationally and in Ohio in January of 2021 with its “Amtrak Connects Us” plan. But the list of corridors being sent to the FRA includes several additional routes not yet on Amtrak’s visionary map.

“We cannot think of a stronger show of support for passenger rail in Ohio,” says All Aboard Ohio Executive Director Stu Nicholson. “These are both big and small city Ohio Mayors and the state’s foremost transportation planning agencies telling Amtrak and the FRA they recognize the social, economic, and workforce benefits that a connected system of intercity passenger trains can bring the Buckeye State and the region around us.”

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine earlier this year ordered the Ohio Rail Development Commission to begin extensive rail corridor studies to determine what’s needed to upgrade them for passenger rail and the estimated service development costs.