Amidst the buzz of federal investments in our nation’s passenger rail network, residents across Ohio are starting to see investments break ground. Projects are taking shape right now to re-build Ohio’s rail backbone and support stations needed for highly anticipated expansion projects as well as the current Amtrak routes which carried 152,749 passengers in Ohio in Fiscal Year 2025.

• Elyria, Ohio

• Oxford, Ohio

• Cleveland, Ohio

• Bryan, Cincinnati, Sandusky, Ohio

• Columbus, Ohio

Elyria, Ohio's Amtrak Station Move

The city of Elyria, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland, is preparing for its new Amtrak station. The current site sits on a rail bridge half a mile from downtown, and it will soon be relocated a short distance west to the former New York Central Railroad station which now serves as the Lorain County Transportation Center. This, in addition to providing better bus connections, will allow passengers easier and more direct access to downtown.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission has committed $100,000 to the project to fulfill local matching requirements for a federal grant and Amtrak has committed $5 million.

Oxford, Ohio Train Station Nearing Completion

Near the eastern border of Indiana, Oxford has constructed the station building for a new stop along Amtrak’s Cardinal route. Amtrak service expected to start in 2027, it will serve passengers traveling between Cincinnati and Indianapolis; and more broadly between Chicago and the Northeast Corridor. This will mark Ohio’s first new Amtrak station in several decades with significant benefits to Miami University which contributed to the project.

The terminal building has already opened as a bus hub as work on the train platform continues.

Cleveland, Ohio Amtrak Upgrades In Progress

Cleveland is one of the three largest cities in Ohio and anchors the state’s largest combined statistical area of 3.7 million people. Four daily Amtrak trains stop at the city’s lakefront station, an unassuming building lying in the shadow of the soon-to-be-vacated Huntington Bank Field. The station itself is sandwiched between a highway and a rail trench with a poor connection to the downtown core.

A two-year project beginning this spring aims to significantly improve the lakefront station and surrounding area, upgrading it to a proper intermodal hub that can better serve current and future intercity trains. This includes extending the platforms under an ADA grant and adding canopies as well as adding a land bridge to better connect downtown and the lakefront station area.

The $8 million project is especially relevant as more investments continue to be made into Cleveland's riverfront development.

Bryan, Cincinnati, Sandusky Station Upgrades

In Bryan, Ohio a $4.6 million Amtrak station building is under construction with a new 350-foot ADA compliant platform and better parking. Cincinnati and Sandusky also are receiving ADA upgrades to their stations through funding from Amtrak.

Columbus, Ohio

Recently we reported on plans for Columbus to begin work on designing its new train station as early as January 2027. This station would be critical to support new Amtrak routes like the 3C+D through Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Cleveland as well as the Midwest Connect from Chicago, to Ft. Wayne, Columbus, and Pittsburgh.

What’s next?

The ongoing station projects across Ohio reflect a renewed enthusiasm for passenger rail nationwide. Cleveland is receiving meaningful investments in its half-century-old station; Elyria is reactivating its own historic station site; and Oxford is opening Ohio’s first new station in decades.

As the state plans expansion of rail to cities like Columbus: investments now could be preparation for passenger numbers that will rise.