Future Amtrak expansions are chugging along in Ohio.
The Federal Railroad Administration announced that it will allocate $500,000 to four routes in the state, identifying corridors where Amtrak should prioritize expansion. Together with the State of Ohio and various metropolitan planning organizations, Amtrak will begin preparing service development plans and corridor development in several key lines.
Funds will be used for planning purposes, through the Corridor Identification program. The list of potential routes includes the new Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati corridor, which has been mentioned often in past Amtrak visions for the state.
Funding for the expansions arrived from President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which dedicated billions of dollars to Amtrak in November 2021.
“Today’s announcement is a great first step toward expanding Amtrak in Ohio,” Senator Sherrod Brown says in a news release. “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.”
The four corridors that will receive funding are:
- Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati (AKA, the 3C+D corridor)
- Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit
- Chicago-Fort Wayne-Columbus-Pittsburgh (AKA, the Midwest Connect corridor via Lima, Kenton, Marysville, Columbus, Newark, Coshocton, Newcomerstown, Uhrichsville and Steubenville)
- Cardinal Line: New York-Chicago, through Cincinnati (Service frequency would increase from three times a week to daily)
The planning funds are just part of a new push forward: These corridors will also get priority for funding competitions and federal programs, including the FRA's Fed-State Partnership - National (FSP-N) Program.
RELATED: What 24 Hours on an Amtrak Train Showed Us About the Future of Passenger Rail in Cleveland
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