This article from the News Record last month highlights the $400 million grant Ohio received to start on the 3C passenger rail system. The article reports that the trains will reach speeds up to 79mph and generate $12.2 million a year in revenue and spur the creation of 8,000 new jobs. What the article doesn't mention is the fact that the train will actually average 39mph, rarely reaching the 79mph. That means it will take 6 and 1/2 hours to get to Cleveland from Cincinnati! Furthermore, at a cost of $25-$30 ONE-WAY to Columbus from Cincinnati, who will be riding this? This is the package that is supposed to appeal to people? Five hours spent in transit to Columbus for a cost of $50?! It doesn't make economic sense.
While $400 million is nice, the estimated cost for the initial phase (running off of already existing freight lines) stands at $564 million. With the potential for a $8 billion budget deficit in the state of Ohio, where is the extra $164 million supposed to come from? We can't rush into something that simply isn't feasible in its current form. We can't build something we can't afford. We need a plan like Metro Moves which sets out ways to come up with the revenue for a transit system.
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