Cincinnati City Council has passed a resolution of support for Amtrak intercity passenger rail connecting the City with Dayton, Columbus, and Cleveland, also known as the 3-C Corridor.
The resolution also requests that Cincinnati should be included in any initial service, likely a connection between Cincinnati and Columbus.
Councilmember Chris Monzel cast the lone dissenting vote.
The and Amtrak are currently anayzing ridership projections and operating costs, and estimates are that the first trains could run somewhere in the state as soon as the end of next year.
Just last week, interim executive director Ken Prendergast of public transportation and passenger rail advocacy group All Aboard Ohio said that Ohio could save millions of general fund dollars by funding the 3-C Corridor with federal dollars.
According to his organization's analysis, federally-funded passenger train service could free up state general funds dedicated to employee travel expenses, which could then be redirected for education, vocational training, and other beneficial programs.
If 50 state employees took the train each day in the corridor, the state could save $2.3 million per year, Prendergast says.
U.S. Department of Commerce data shows that a $100 million investment in the 3-C corridor would create 2,400 new jobs with an increase in annual incomes of $50 million.
The 3-C plan is also seen as the logical first step to the more comprehensive system, a $3 billion-$4 billion transit project composed of high-speed trains running along 1,244 miles of track serving 46 stations.
Photo credit: "Northbound Amtrak" by , courtesy of Flickr.
Previous reading on BC:
Cincinnati EDC to consider resolution of support for Ohio passenger rail service (2/23/09)
All Aboard Ohio: Stimulus bill may ignore Ohio's train and transit needs (1/21/09)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Cincinnati supports 3-C passenger rail
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6 comments:
Why would Monzel vote against this?
Also, if the anti-streetcar charter amendment would pass, council would not be allowed to spend any staff time or money on such an effort (however minor) without a city-wide vote.
So how does this tie in to the street car? Or doesn't it?
^They would meet somewhere I'm sure. The Transit Center on the riverfront or Union Terminal are the two obvious choices.
I'll give you another possibility: Lunken Airport. There's a SORTA-owned track that leads from there to Evendale.
By using it, you could avoid all the freight congestion in the Mill Creek Valley. I can imagine trains departing and arriving at Union Terminal being hours behind schedule because freight always seems to move before passengers.
I could see an electric streetcar from the CBD to Lunken.
I'm sure there's a way to tie-in the line coming from Indianapolis to Evendale and on to Lunken.
CityKin: Why would Monzel vote against this?
I will not pretend to know Monzel's thoughts, but my best educated guess is that he voted against it on principle, especially since it's going after federal dollars.
This is a great idea except for a huge glaring oversight -- how are people going to get around in these cities once they get there? None of these cities have dependable, easy ways to travel within the city. These type of initiatives will only work if it makes it *easier* and as fast or faster to get around than by car. Otherwise people won't use them and it will be a waste of money...
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