The Passenger Rail Investment & Improvement Act
The U.S. House of Reps. this past week introduced HR-6003, the long-awaited House version of Senate Bill 294: The Passenger Rail Investment & Improvement Act, which would:
1. Create a first-ever, five year funding scenario for Amtrak with a total funding of $14.2 Billion dollars, which would allow them to fiannly expand intercity service and improve aging passenger equipment.
2. Creates a first-ever funding mechanism (80-20% matching system federal/state) that states can draw upon to build their own passenger rail plans such as the Ohio Hub and/or fulfill the Governor’s request to get passenger rail service started up on an interim basis in the 3-C Corridor.
Now is the time to be talking these bills up to your MOC (Member of Congress). Be loud and clear about it. Tell them your tired of having no options to “pain at the pump”.
Related Stories:
- Strickland wants 3-C Passenger Rail Restored
- Support The Ohio Hub - Sign the Petition
- Passenger Trains - Considered Again Today
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Related Tags: 3c corridor • amtrak • ohio hub • passenger rail • Transit • transportation
May 15th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Pain at the pump is one thing, but interstate travel is what I have in mind. I have family on the east coast I can barely afford to visit. If I want to take Amtrak to Philly or NYC, I currently drive three hours to catch a morning train outside of Pittsburgh. Getting passenger rail into Columbus might actually make up for the Skybus debacle.
I’ll definitely pester my rep on this one. Thanks!
May 16th, 2008 at 8:56 am
I hope that spend that money on all the defered maintenance on their existing routes in the NEC.
Amtrak has neglected their infrastructure for years in the NE.
Since, the NEC is so heavily travelled and actually generates some money for amtrak, I see them putting alot of money into improving the existing service.
for one thing, perhaps they can purchase more rolling stock, cuz they’ve been borrowing from NJT, SEPTA and MARC…..hahah.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Expanding intercity service as in getting a station in Columbus? I am all for that. Without a station here, I could careless about amtrak service. Does anyone know the figures, how many other metros do not have passenger rail service? We seem to be the only one that I can think of. Toledo even has an amtrak station.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Any info you need about the projects can be found here:
http://www.ohiohub.com
May 16th, 2008 at 11:23 am
From here: http://www.gcbl.org/transportation/passenger-rail/ohio-hub-study/gov-strickland-asks-amtrak-to-explore-ohio-passenger-rail
May 16th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Toledo has the good fortune to be on the way to Chicago along the Lake Erie corridor, so they got a stop on a good route primarily not because of where they are, but because the route to Chicago naturally went through them.
Realistically, though, I think many of the new proposals reflect a more realistic perspective regarding how long people are willing to sit on trains on a more routine basis. The East Coast is one of the few places where Amtrak pulls in money, and it’s not people leaving the East Coast to go to New Orleans or Florida, it’s people going to other cities on the East Coast. Keep in mind that most East Coast states are physically smaller than most Midwestern ones, too, which are in turn physically smaller than true Western ones.
Columbus to Cleveland or Cincinnati is a more realistic length for a train ride, particularly if the regulatory environment is sufficiently friendly (in comparison with what you find at airports now) to let people get on and off fairly simply. Even the trek to Chicago from Cleveland takes longer than many intercontinental airplane flights (7 hr).
May 16th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Which is why I don’t see Amtrak making a huge effort restoring service to columbus.
I think Columbus’s best chance at getting passenger service is through a statewide/regional rail system. Something run similar to NJTransit that gets funding from the state budget and the feds, but separate from amtrak’s funding. I think the Ohio HUB fills this quite well.
As Gramarye points out, its a long way from ohio to anywhere……but within Ohio, the train rides would be very reasonable ( a train ride to indy wouldn’t be bad , nor would pittsburgh).
So yeah
May 16th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Columbus is within 500 miles (a long but doable train trip) of 50% of the US population. And also 50% of the Canadian population. The distance between Boston and DC is a little under 500 miles. We’re not that far from most places.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I agree, I do not see Columbus as a “gateway” city to other destinations. i see Toledo and Cleveland serving this niche. What we need is a way for people in Columbus to get to Cleveland or Toledo, and then from those 2 cities travel to other cities.
Gram i also don’t see the problem with Cleveland to Chicago taking 7 hours, unless the price of a ticket is a ridiculous amount. To drive from Cleveland to Chicago I would guess would take about 7 hours. Chicago to Toledo is about 5, and Toledo to Cleveland is roughly about 2. As long as the price is right, and lower than air travel it is a fine route, if air travel is only 20 bucks more, then obviously no one is taking the train.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I agree with this 100%. The best thing about Columbus is its proximity to other cities. We have chicago, detroit, louisville, cleveland, pitt, nati, indy, and maybe a few more cities all within around a 5 hour drive or so. Heck, New york is only what, maybe 8 hours? One of Columbus’s best features is being close to other locations. Now, the real question is, how good are these locations, and does anyone actually want to travel there? If you are in nyc, it is 2 hours to Boston, another destiation city. Nyc is close to Philly a destiation city, and not that far from DC. The problem is Chicago is the only destination city that Columbus is decently close too. So in peoples minds Columbus is far from everything.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Yeah, thats kinda what I was thinking. I realize we’re close to 50% of the population, but do we really wanna go visit them?
In reality though, we are sorta close.
DC to BOSTON is the longest trip on the NEC (well, I think technically, its DC to springfield)……much more common is NYC to DC which is a good deal shorter.
My oriignal point was that aside from Cleve and Cinci, being geographically centered in the middle of the state just means that we’re kinda far from all things outside of ohio.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
um… If we had rail here train trips to New York, Boston, DC, Chicago, Toronto, and Montreal are all perfectly reasonable.
You guys seem to forget that 10 hours on a train is NOT the same as 10 hours driving. It’s actually rather relaxing. Bring a book and an mp3 player. A lot of folks bring laptops and watch movies now. Personally, I watch the landscape.
It takes about 12 hours to get to Manhattan by train, about the same as driving. It’s 10 hours from Huntington to DC through amazingly scenic New River gorge. That’s a lovely trip.
The trains slow down going over the mountains, but they really speed up on flat ground. I clocked the last amtrak I was on at 126 mph in Jersey.
No, it’s not as fast as flying, but its not unreasonable given the total lack of effort involved in riding a train.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
What do you know about huntington? :D
My avatar is in Huntington.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Yeah, 10 hours aint bad……..on the train.
Its still a good distance away, and certainly not something one would want to do for a day trip to go to the Met or a Sox game or the Smithsonian or something like that.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I know some people in H, but mostly I know they have a train station there that I have used to get to DC. :)
May 16th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Standard coach ticket from Cleveland to Chicago is $92.00 each way, so $184.00 round trip.
You’re right that if your point of reference is driving, then the train may have some advantages, though it also has disadvantages because of the lack of free movement you’ll face in any destination city without a dense public transit network of its own. (Chicago has one; most cities don’t.) However, I was comparing rail to air travel, which is its most direct competitor when it comes to long-distance travel rather than commuter transit. If I want to go to Boston, more than likely, I’m going to fly, not drive; therefore, to get my business, a train would have to offer a superior alternative to flying, not to driving.
By contrast, if I want to come back to Columbus, or even go to Cincinnati, more than likely, I’m going to drive. To get my business on that front, therefore, a train only has to beat driving, not flying. There are planes that hop from Columbus to Cleveland (generally to ferry passengers to the hub there for their real destination … I stopped there en route to London), but the trip is still short enough by train that I’d strongly consider taking the train to avoid the hassle of airports and the gas of a long car ride.
Ten hours is still ten hours, and I seriously don’t see a great future in rail transit between Columbus and Washington, Philadelphia, or other cities on the East Coast, nor to Chicago.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I was hoping you had lived there, because I probably had stolen your bike 14 years ago. :lol: :lol:
I grew up in Northcott, the jects right on Hal Greer, if you know where that is. Is it not funny though, that a ghetto place like Huntington has an amtrak, and we do not?
May 16th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
A good 4-day weekend trip is doable. Beyond that I generally ask myself “Is this trip really necessary?”, given what you’re spending time and money no matter what you do to get there. If you’re someone who considers carbon footprints and responsible use of resources it skews the equation even farther.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I agree somewhat. I am not going to drive to Boston lets say. However, i have never flown, and will always drive to: NYC, Chicago, DC, Baltimore, etc. I see the future in rail as connecting places all in one area. We could worry about connecting, ohio, illinois, indiana, and michigan. Then Maybe have one line that connects that area to an area composed of say: ny, nj, ct, etc. I think you underestimate the amount of people that do drive long distances. Chicago is about the furthest I am driving to the west, and NYC, is about the furthest I am driving to the East. Having a rail that connects Columbus to Chicago via toledo, or nyc via cleveland, would be great imo.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Once the airlines start charging fares to be profitable with projected future fuel prices you might.
Frankly I don’t see a great future in reasonably priced air transit.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
I regularly take the train to NYC/DC for the weekend. Its not that bad, and I’ve been known to go there for the day if there is an even that I want to go to.
10 hours is about how long it takes to get to Montreal from NYC, its good for a 4day weeknd, but no less. One time i went up for the Jazz festival over the weekend. You’re just not ready to get back on a train after just 1.5 days.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
oh, also… try booking more than 2 weeks in advance.
if I go for my birthday in june from cle to chi it’s $133 round trip
May 16th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Don’t forget that trains are BYOB. Perfect for the long hauls.
Drink, sleep, repeat.
We probably looked pretty silly bringing two cases on board for the trek between Denver and San Fran.
That was in my youth however.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
I don’t care if we get Amtrak or not, I’m more interested in a regional rail plan (Ohio Hub). I once took Amtrak from Boston to Cleveland and back in college to get home for Christmas break. It was an adventure for a 19-year old, but I can’t see riding a train for 19 hours each way today.
Anyway, I just e-mailed Tiberi to express my support for H.R 6003. Does anyone know the Senate Bill’s designation?
May 16th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
You’ll LOVE the OhioHub plan then!
C-bus to chicago via LIMA. Straight route + flat ground = 100mph trains. if we’re lucky we’ll get accella service on it which is even faster.
C-bus to NYC via a choice of going through either Cleveland or a more direct route through Pitt.
here’s the proposed route map
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/Ohio%20Hub/Maps/Revised_Maps/OHIO_HUB_Proposed_Corridors_and_Stations.pdf
the more i think about this the more i want it. IMHO it is a far better use of my taxpayer dollars than 100 other things I can think of.