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Rail News Home High-Speed Rail

9/27/2010



Rail News: High-Speed Rail

Ohio DOT to advance work on 3C corridor


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On Sept. 23, the Federal Railroad Administration approved a cooperative agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), releasing $15 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars to the state for its 3C “Quick Start” corridor.

The funds will enable ODOT and the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) to advance efforts to restore 79 mph passenger-rail service between Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. The Obama Administration has committed a total of $400 million in recovery act dollars for the project.

The next phase of work includes launching a competitive selection process to determine an operator and developing specifications for rail cars. ODOT will begin to refine estimates for ridership, and capital improvement and operating costs; lay out the process for adding future stops in places such as Mansfield and Middletown; and further improve the schedule.

During the past several months, ODOT has worked with a railroad modeling firm to revise the proposed schedule. Passenger trains will make the entire 258.5-mile trek from Cincinnati to Cleveland in just a little over five hours, with average speeds of 60 mph. A trip on the 3C train from downtown Columbus to downtown Cleveland would take two hours, 20 minutes — the same amount of time as driving an automobile, according to ORDC.

Meanwhile, a number of Ohio businesses have been supportive of the project. At least 225 Ohio businesses currently supply or contract with the railroad industry, ORDC said.