A decade after Ohio passed-up the opportunity to invest in passenger rail service connecting the state’s three largest cities, Amtrak, the national passenger rail operator, is considering expanding service options in the state, including pursuing the so-called 3C rail project once more.

You may have read our recent blog post discussing the American Jobs Plan, which calls for trillions of dollars of investment in hard and soft infrastructure across the country. Part of that plan includes $85 billion to modernize transit agencies, with funding intended not only to maintain existing transit infrastructure but to expand services by investing in bus, bus rapid transit, and rail services. It also includes a further $80 billion in funding for Amtrak to address repair projects and service expansion to underserved areas or development of new lines of service.

Ohio currently has three Amtrak rail lines that run through Ohio. The Capitol Limited connects Washington, D.C. to Chicago, with stops in Alliance, Cleveland, Elyria, Sandusky and Toledo. The Lake Shore Limited connects New York City to Chicago, with stops in Cleveland, Elyria, Sandusky, Toledo and Bryan.  The Cardinal Line Connects New York, Washington, D.C. and Chicago with a stop in Cincinnati. 

If the current proposal from Amtrak were to be approved (along with enactment of necessary funding through the American Jobs Plan), service in Ohio would be expanded to include five new routes. The most talked about would be the 3C+D corridor plan, which would connect Cleveland and Cincinnati with stops in Columbus and Dayton, as well as a number of smaller cities along the route. Cleveland would see new routes with connections to Detroit via Toledo, Albany, New York via Buffalo, and Pittsburgh via Akron and Youngstown. The existing service route from Cincinnati to Chicago would be expanded from two daily trips to four.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amtrak experiences record-ridership, with 32.5 million passengers in 2019. While the Northeast U.S. has the largest share of daily riders, the mid-west U.S. had more than 7.3 million riders that same year. While Ohio saw only 132,000 passengers, down from a peak in 2013, that is partly due to the lack of options. The two routes that stop in Cleveland pass through between 1am and 6am while the Cincinnati routes pass through between 1am and 4am. The proposed expansion would see multiple trains running through Ohio’s cities at all hours of the day. Amtrak officials have also said that improvements to service along routes would be made with the proposed funding with the aim of improvement service times. Hypothetical service schedules would make it possible to travel from Cleveland to Columbus in 2 hours; the route from Cleveland to Cincinnati would run 4.5 hours.

Interest in the proposal is running high across the state. Lawmakers at the Statehouse have been encouraged to support the effort (though initial development of the routes through Ohio would not involve state funding at all) while a number of cities, including Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland, and Elyria have passed resolutions endorsing the proposal.

To learn more about Amtrak’s expansion plans, visit the Amtrak Connects Us website, and continue to follow GOPC as we will monitor ongoing developments with the expansion plans across Ohio.