(The Center Square) – The federal government plans to spend $2 million to develop passenger rail service between Ohio’s three major cities and other areas in the state.
The announcement, from Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, comes 10 months after Gov. Mike DeWine directed the Ohio Rail Development Commission to launch a study to look at two passenger rail options in the state.
Amtrak, the state and local planning organizations are expected to start corridor development efforts, including a service development plan to connect Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati.
The development corridors also connect Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit, along with a Midwest corridor between Chicago, Fort Wayne, Columbus and Pittsburgh. Finally, increasing service frequency to Cincinnati from New York City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago is part of the plan.
The Federal Railroad Administration will give each area $500,000 for planning. The money comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November 2021 by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden.
“Today’s announcement is a great first step toward expanding Amtrak in Ohio,” Brown said. “Good Amtrak service shouldn’t be a privilege only for people on the coasts. These new routes would expand opportunity, help grow businesses and create jobs, and connect communities in Ohio and across the Midwest. I fought for the investment to make Amtrak expansion in Ohio possible – and I will keep fighting to make sure that Ohio receives these critical infrastructure projects.”
As previously reported by The Center Square in January, Amtrak remained more than 25% below prepandemic ridership levels. Amtrak’s total revenues were $2.99 billion in 2022, less than the $3.5 billion in total revenue in 2019 before the pandemic.
In late November, however, Amtrak announced its fiscal year 2023 fourth-quarter customer trips increased 24.6% over fiscal year 2022 and was 8% above prepandemic levels.
It reported its total operating revenue at $3.4 billion, an increase of 20% over fiscal year 2022, citing higher ridership and ticket revenues.
