It's been a long wait for expanded passenger rail in Cincinnati — but it's getting somewhat closer.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently instructed the Ohio Rail Development Commission to apply for two $500,000 grants to study new rail corridors in the state. One of those would potentially run from Cincinnati through Dayton and Columbus to Cleveland.

Meanwhile, Amtrak wants to explore expanding its Cardinal line — which currently stops in Cincinnati a few times a week in the early morning hours — to serve the city multiple times a day. It's also applied for a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to study that idea.

Those efforts are part of a larger push to connect Ohio and neighboring states via better passenger rail. But they're all in the beginning stages.

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