Passenger rail advocates pan state’s updated rail plan for freight focus

The 162-page document, which is pending approval from the commission, concludes with a chapter detailing “Ohio’s long-term vision for rail service.” The chapter lists zero passenger rail capital projects, compared to 103 projects centered on freight rail.

The document reasons that the evaluation of passenger rail expansion is more convoluted than freight rail, given that Ohio already has a broad freight rail network and scant passenger rail system.

“...the evaluation and potential development of passenger rail services is a multistep process that begins with system planning, continues to project planning, project development, design, and then construction,” the document reads, noting that most of the passenger rail projects the state is considering are in early stages.

“As such, it is too early to identify individual capital projects, their impacts and potential funding/financing associated with each of these corridor studies.”

All Aboard Ohio Executive Director John Esterly framed the state’s plan, however, as out of step with what most Ohioans want, pointing to a study commissioned by the Ohio Department of Transportation that found more than 80% of Ohioans rated passenger rail improvements as important.

“All across Ohio, people are asking for better mobility options. They want passenger trains that connect communities and provide alternatives to driving,” Esterly wrote. “Yet the new State Rail Plan largely sidesteps this public demand. Instead of presenting a bold path forward, it positions passenger rail as a secondary consideration. That disconnect should concern Ohio leaders.”

In an interview with this outlet, All Aboard Ohio Board Chair Mitch Radakovich said he was particularly concerned about a lack of focus on the imminent “phase two” of a study plan on a proposed passenger rail corridor connecting Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland.

“I would have hoped to see an action plan for phase two, specifically, but then ideally a plan to move our way through the program, including saying what support they would need from the Statehouse to make it be a thing,” said Radakovich, who noted that there’s significant federal funding available for the “3C+D” plan, along with proposals to connect Cleveland to Toledo to Detroit and to connect Columbus and Lima into a route that spans from Pittsburgh to Chicago.

The Ohio Rail Development Coalition is set to vote on the new rail plan on Sept. 18.