CINCINNATI — Advocates for passenger rail in Ohio are pushing back against changes made by the Senate to the state budget, arguing it will make expanding passenger rail more difficult.
The Senate’s version of the state’s two-year budget was released earlier this week.
What does the budget say?
The Senate removed the following provision passed by the House:
- Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact - Earmarks $25,000 in each fiscal year to pay for the cost for Ohio joining the Compact.
MIPRC brings together state leaders from across the region on a bipartisan basis to advocate for passenger rail improvements, according to its website.
MIPRC's current members are Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin. Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota are eligible to join.
Ohio opted to join in 2002, but repealed the funding in 2013.
What do advocates say?
In its current form, All Aboard Ohio board president Mitch Radakovich said it will make the expansion of passenger rail more difficult.
All Aboard Ohio is urging its members to call their state senators about the changes.
“It's going to be sending a message that we have actively hostile forces in the state house that are going to be doing what they can to make this not happen,” Radakovich said.
All Aboard Ohio said that after receiving bipartisan support in the House, they had not seen public opposition from senators. He said the group was surprised to see the funding removed by the Senate.
“It’s a matter of transparency that we are not seeing,” Radakovich said.
He said Ohio having a seat at the table with the Midwest commission is "critical" for planning for the future of rail.
"It also would allow us to open up more opportunities for federal grants, and would allow us to, longer term, do things like shared transportation fleets, where we could share cars and locomotives with other states, saving the state millions of dollars," Radakovich said.
The word from the Senate
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Jerry Cirino said while he couldn’t go into detail on every item on the budget, he said as a general statement on rail funding: “There was a lot of skepticism about whether that’s a practical project or not.”
When asked whether there’s a political appetite for passenger rail in Ohio, Cirino said: “There could be. I don’t know that there’s been enough discussion and debate about it.”
“We don't feel that it should be done in the budget. Perhaps, maybe as a standalone bill that would have hearings and have proper scrutiny,” the senator said.
Advocates said they tried that. Last session, House Bill 488 was introduced and went to committee, but it never got a vote.
The deadline for changes to the Senate budget bill is noon on Friday, June 6.
Other changes
The Senate budget makes changes to the Ohio Rail Development Commission.
It increases the number of members who represent the interest of freight rail companies from one to two members. It removes the requirement that those members be residents of Ohio, “provided they have a substantial connection to freight rail operations in Ohio.”
The budget removes a member representing the interests of passenger rail service.
Commissioners representing the interests of passenger rail, the general public (2), and freight rail are currently vacant, according to the ORDC’s website.
The Senate budget adds one-time grants to the lead Ohio partnering agency preparing the Step 2-Service Development Plan supporting Ohio's portion of the Midwest Connect rail line. That supports the development of a train route that stops in Columbus from Chicago to Pittsburgh.
Progress on passenger rail in Ohio
All Aboard Ohio cites the 2024 Transportation Preference Study from the Ohio Department of Transportation that shows 75% of Ohioans think it’s important to improve Ohio’s rail network.
However, the political battle is uphill.
“The number one pushback that we get when we're talking to general citizens right now is, ‘Oh, that can never happen,’” Radakovich said. “In Ohio, it's not them saying they don't want it to happen. It's them saying they don't believe that our political system can make it happen.”
Advocates say they are closer than ever to getting Amtrak to conveniently connect to Ohio.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration has been studying a route between Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati, also known as the 3C+D corridor.
According to an analysis by Scioto Analysis, a passenger rail line between Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland would contribute $106 to $107 million to gross state product and create 1,100 jobs.
