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According to a Statehouse source, the 3C Corridor should be officially receiving federal stimulus dollars tomorrow in an announcement following Obama’s State of the Union speech. In October 2009, ODOT and the Ohio Rail Development Commission submitted their application for $563 million to help fund a passenger rail line that would run between Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. More information about the 3C Corridor can be found at 3cisme.ohio.gov. More information about tomorrow’s announcement can be found in a Dispatch article here.
Update #1: Gov. Strickland’s office is planning a news conference today (Thursday) in the Statehouse Rotunda at 1pm. Anyone planning on attending?
Update #2: It’s official. The 3C Corridor is receiving $400M in federal funding.
Can any of you give an example of one recent city to city, (not an urban metropolitan system like BART), passenger rail line implemented where there was no current passenger traffic, the speed of the new system had a real world average of 40mph or less, (which accounts for actual travel time, not fastest available time), there was no significant daily commuter traffic between the cities served, and no tourist traffic as well. Again, I am not against rail traffic where it makes sense, just that 3c does not.
So you are saying there is no tourist traffic between the 3Cs? Are you serious?
lifeontwotrainingwheels says: “And again, the established way-recognized by no less than the federal government in the form of the IRS-is to base costs on the established cost per mile,”
That system works to figure average cost per mile over a long period of time, again, if i decide right now to get up and drive to Cleveland I am going to put $15.00 on my debit card at the Speedway station, and that is all the extra $$$ I am going to spend over and above what I would have spent if I did not go. I am not sure why that is so hard to understand other than it doesn’t fit your argument.
Cost per mile is the recognized way. Unless you want to make numbers up to fit an argument.
lifeontwotrainingwheels writes: “So you are saying there is no tourist traffic between the 3Cs? Are you serious?”
Ok, let’s change that to “no significant tourist traffic”. Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland don’t attract tourists like NY, Boston, or San Francisco. Your arguing the minute points, just give me the one example please.
The largest tourist attraction in Ohio has an AMTRAK stop with four trains daily serving it.
Cedar Point located in Sandusky, how many passengers did they have last year ?
6,513 for four trains every single day of the year.
http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/OHIO09.pdf
So you are going with Cedar Point over 7 professional sport teams, over 15 universities and colleges, top ranked museums and libraries?
Nope
It’s the largest tourist attraction in the state of Ohio, best known coaster park in the world. An Amtrak stop less than 15 minutes from the entrance of the park with four trains a day serving it.
You see the numbers, I guess you don’t believe them. They’re AMTRAKS numbers, not mine.
So you want to compare Cedar Point to Boston, NY, and San Francisco? Wow! Again, arguing the minute, where is your example?
Sorry Buckeye, I didn’t see your initial posted point on this. I am still waiting for anyone to give me my one example though.
I also cited Amtraks study showing increases in ridership over the last 4 years.
Also IIRC most of the Amtrak routes come through Ohio late at night and early morning. 3C will be more convenient.
I am still wating on that one example.
I don’t know how I can give you one since 3C really doesn’t fit what you are asking for. It’s your subjective opinion of what Ohio is and largely ignores the reality.
Amtraks ridership figures dropped in 2009 nationally.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/13/amtrak-ridership-shrinks-_n_318167.html
Again where are the 450,000 riders for the 3c coming from ?
Amtrak can’t get riders to the CAVS, INDIANS, BROWNS games, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, Cleveland Orchestra, Cedar Point any zoos in Cleveland or Toledo.
What will be so different about the 3C route ?
The reality is that people in the state of Ohio do not use slow speed train service if other options present themselves.
The passenger counts show it. That is the reality, like it or not AMTRAKS own figures show it.
In context:
“Amtrak said Monday its ridership dropped by more than a million passengers in the past year, still the second-highest year in the railroad’s history.”
“Still, 2009 ridership was 5.1 percent higher than two years ago.”
lifeonatricycle wrote: “I don’t know how I can give you one since 3C really doesn’t fit what you are asking for. ”
Exactly my point, there has not been any successful launch of any rail system like 3c where there is little or no benefit to the consumer. What company in their right mind would launch a product that very few people have any interest in. Remember New Coke? Asking me to pay money to ride 3c is like asking me to ride a DC3 when I fly out to Houston in two weeks instead of the Airbus. It might actually be quaint and charming once, but on a daily basis, I am not going to pay more to take more time to get there.
BC,
I would guess ridership has something to do with the timetables. If you read the table for the Capitol Limited, all stops for Cleveland-Sandusky-Elyria are either 12-3 AM or 4-6 AM. I think it’s impressive they can get 0.01% of the MSA on the trains despite the awful hours.
3C is projected to carry .06% of the routes MSA, not a far stretch from Cleveland’s numbers when you consider the hours will be far better AND you are adding the Dayton and Columbus MSAs.
DC3 – Airbus, perfect analogy.
Whhels,
If that was the case, why are they pushing the idea that ” you’ll be able to connect in Cleveland and Cincy to go to the East Coast and the hub in Chicago ?
Why would they try and sell something that nobody will want ?