Brewed Fresh Daily

The State of Ohio’s Governor-elect John Kasich plans to kill the State’s 3C Rail Project that has been awarded $400 million by the federal government.

Cleveland City Council passed a resolution yesterday to urge Kasich to support the plan.
Ref: http://www.scribd.com/doc/42716014/Cleve-City-Council-3C-Rail-Corridor-Resolution

What has been proposed, funded and at risk: $400 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds, 250 miles of track.
Ref:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rail_cleveland-cincinnati.PDF

High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program
Cleveland – Columbus – Dayton – Cincinnati

This new corridor connects four major metropolitan areas in Ohio: Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati. This significant route, named the “3C Corridor,” has a length of 250 miles and will serve communities near Lake Erie, in Central Ohio, and the Tri-State region around Cincinnati. These metropolitan areas are among the largest in the United States that are currently not served by passenger rail.

The corridor will connect 12 economically-distressed counties, and the new service will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs throughout the state. The project will also bring livability benefits to the region, as many new stations will be constructed or restored in historic downtowns where they will connect to transit and other modes of transportation. Nearly 40 colleges and universities lie in close proximity to the route, as do the headquarters of 22 Fortune 500 companies.

The 3C Corridor is expected to be the first phase of a long-term vision for an extensive network of passenger rail corridors connecting the cities of Ohio and neighboring states. Subsequent phases are expected to increase speeds, cut trip times and boost available round trips.

Summary of Corridor Investments

Using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), this new service is expected to offer three daily round trips at speeds up to 79 mph, serving a population of more than 6.8 million people (nearly 60 percent of Ohio’s population).

This investment will fund a number of projects across the state, including track upgrades, grade crossings, new stations, and maintenance facilities. This project will also include planning for necessary equipment that can support future service improvements

Charts and observations:

Full Cost Accounting
Opponents of mass transit and rail generally have a narrow view of costs and benefits of our transportation systems.  Recognized sustainability and planning principals call for least-cost transportation planning based on full-cost accounting. Ref: http://www.vtpi.org/tca

Funding in terms of % of total transportation expenditures and as a % of GDP internationally:

The following chart shows that in the USA we spend on average $120 billion or 63% of our transportation funding on highways, $38 billion or 20% on transit, $32 billion or 16% on Air and only $1 billion or  1% on rail.

Ref: page 43 - http://www.bts.gov/publications/pocket_guide_to_transportation/2010/pdf/entire.pdf

The following is not a picture of competitive investment in our rail infrastructure and it does nothing to begin to change our culture of an over-reliance on cars and trucks and rising fuel prices globally  –

Ref: http://apolloalliance.org/downloads/GlobalCompetitivenessRailandTransitIndustry.pdf

Our nation’s overall investment in infrastructure is poor and in cities like Cleveland, Ohio, the region and urban core cities are in a 12-year down economy with revenues continuing to shrink and costs rising –

Based on the “Report Card for America’s Infrastructure” – 2005 Grades for major sectors:

D+  Avation
C    Bridges
D    Energy (national power grid)
C-   Rail
D    Roads
D+  Transit
D    Schools

Ref: http://apps.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=103

And last but not least, in response to the new Governor-elect’s contention that Ohioans don’t want rail:

Passenger rail advocates pleased by Amtrak numbers

Adrian Burns, Business First, 10/22/2010
Ref: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2010/10/passenger-rail-advocates-pleased-by.html

Excerpts:

“Amtrak’s Ohio ridership jumped 14 percent in the year ended in September, an increase passenger rail advocates are likely to hold out as a sign of Ohioans’ interest in taking the train…

During fiscal 2010, 146,681 passengers got on or off Amtrak trains at Ohio stations, compared with 128,174 passengers in 2009 and 121,019 in 2008, according to Amtrak passenger data. The rail service runs three long-distance routes that pass through northern and southern Ohio, but not anywhere near Columbus…”

Last 5 posts by Brian Cummins

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