Visit www.linkingohio.com to send our state elected leadership an email.
SOME FACTS ABOUT 3C PASSENGER RAIL:
What do we get for $400 million?
· $400 million will get 3C “Quick Start” prepared for opening day: finalize engineering and environmental work, upgrade tracks and signaling systems, negotiate operating agreements with the freight railroads, work with the public on station and service details, construct tracks and stations, buy train cars and finalize service schedules.
· This federal grant does not require any local match from the State of Ohio to be used; however, it can only be used to implement the Quick Start of the 3C Passenger Rail Service, or must be returned to the Federal Rail Administration to be used for another project within the country.
How will you pay for the operation of this train, given the state’s tight budget?
- The 3C “Quick Start” includes a 20 year business model that showed a financial plan, based upon projected operational costs, needed investments, and anticipated revenues.
- Based on numbers provided by Amtrak, ODOT estimates that annual revenue – including ticket sales – from the initial 3C “Quick Start” service will generate approximately $12.2 million each year. It is also estimated that Ohio would need about $17 million in additional annual state investment to operate the train. This is how the state intends to cover that $17 million annual cost using non-gas-tax dollars:
- Existing federal grant dollars (CMAQ funds) for the first three years of operation, which doesn’t start until at least 2012 (beyond the current fiscal biennium).
- Revenues currently received by ODOT through its blue sign/brown sign highway advertising program.
- Future revenues from private sources corridor & train naming rights, advertising revenues, franchise fees for on-board and station concessions.
- Local participation through financing mechanisms such as port authorities, tax increment financing districts (TIF) and transportation innovation authorities (TIA)
Why start with 79 mph? Why not 110 mph or faster?
- Even among the world’s premier high-speed rail systems, nations did not make the leap from zero to 200-plus mph in a single step. They built service incrementally as passenger demand grew.
- Ohio’s eventual goal is for a system of frequent 110-mph trains operating both within the state and connecting to neighboring states. Existing tracks can be upgraded to accommodate maximum speeds of 110 mph, which is the speed called for in the Ohio Hub Plan. Trains traveling faster than 110 mph would require new tracks.
- The 3C “Quick Start” lays the foundation for more and better trains in more Ohio corridors. In fact, ODOT/ORDC committed $7 million in new funding (approved by the TRAC) to begin environmental impact reviews on Cleveland-Pittsburgh, Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit, Columbus-Toledo and the 3C Corridors for future 110-MPH service.
- While there are different planning and engineering requirements for the various speed scenarios, all began with systems operating at conventional speeds and incrementally improved performance. This includes gradual upgrades to the existing rail infrastructure and, once trains begin running, incremental improvements to the speeds and schedules.
- It is worth noting that most of the nation’s growing passenger rail corridors currently operate at conventional speeds up to 79 mph. What they have learned is that passengers care most about trains that are frequent and on-time, as well as being able to spend quality, productive time to conduct business, rest or read a book while on board.
Uncategorized