One train technology alternative to the conventional
steel wheel 3-C is Tubular Rail, a futuristic "trackless train"
Columbus, Ohio: Friday is the date states like Ohio, who want to snag a slice of the $8 billion national high speed rail funding pie, need to submit a proposal the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) explaining why their project should be funded in this, the first round of a new commitment from Washington to build new passenger rail routes where none existed or re-establish service on tracks that haven't had steel wheels carrying passengers roll over them for decades.
Gov. Ted Strickland and his rail chiefs at the Ohio Dept. of Transportation and Rail Development Commission (ORDC) have spent the past weeks drumming up support for three "3-C Quick Launch," an effort to connect Ohio's three largest cites -- Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati -- with passenger rail service whose service is estimated to cost as much as $400 million and be operational within two years of securing funding from the FRA, by asking the congressional delegation to sign on and by creating a 3-C support page on "facebook," the popular social media Web site.
Getting supporters on board
Rallies held on Friday in Cleveland and Columbus will also be part of the homestretch run to the FRA. States must submit their passenger rail stimulus plans to the FRA the same day.
In addition to holding community meetings in the 3-C cities, where they heard great support for it or words of warning that it will be a waste of time and money among other reasons, state officials have also been beating the bushes for support from special interest groups and natural allies like planning agencies, elected and appointed government officials, business and state associations and other special interests, that make up the hierarchal infrastructure of groups that plan, promote, fund, build and manage transportation projects.
A letter of support to be signed by Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and George Voinovich and sent to US DOT Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, sets out the talking points backers of the 3-C hope are good enough to warrant the FRA investing any portion of funding, that while it is more than Washington has ever committed before, is also $90 billion or more short of the total funds requested by all the states who listed their routes and costs, as required in a preliminary FRA filing this summer.
Brown and Voinovich say they believe the "quick start project can play a critical role in the ongoing economic recovery in Ohio" and is essential for the nation's rail system.
They make the observation that 6 million people live within 15 miles of the proposed 255 mile route, representing the densest corridor in the country without passenger rail service.
The last passenger rail to rumble down this route did so in 1972. Since then, Ohio has failed to resume service, despite decades of funding for a rail authority and costly studies, which should raise questions about why a recent Amtrak study projecting first year ridership of 500,000 passengers, given this "pent up demand" didn't make itself known over the last forty years.
"As one of the states hit hardest by the economic downturn, passenger rail represents a real opportunity to create jobs, spur economic growth, and provide a new transit choice for Ohioans," the letter said, noting that with an unemployment rate of nearly 11%, the 3-C Quick Start "would put Ohioans back work sooner rather than later."
Concluding their lobbying for the 3-C, Brown and Voinovich will use LaHood's own words on their behalf: "Mr. Secretary, in a recent visit to Columbus you said, 'Rail is coming to Ohio. Get on the train.' We couldn't agree more with you and strongly encourage your selection of our state's quick start passenger rail application."
Points the letter leaves out
As comprehensive as the letter is, it fails to point out what critics of the effort have said, namely, that the average speed of this train will only 57 miles per hour and only 39 miles per hour along some sections of the route that are within urban neighborhoods. If speed attracts riders, and studies have proved that theory, the slow speed of the 3-C begs further scrutiny of its ridership projections.
And while supporters say Ohioans need more transportation choices, the state has defunded public transportation by more than 60 percent over the decade. There is a clear disparity between the cheer-leading for the 3-C and the evidence in clear view of the value Ohio legislators have placed on funding public transportation.
Sources and uses of funding will always top the list of greatest concerns. The 3-C, which this proposal estimates to cost about $564 million, considerably more than the estimate used for months of $250-400, balloons up to $1.53 billion when a faster speed of 110 miles per hour is considered. High speed train travel in Europe is greater than 125 miles per hour, so for trains that must run on freight rail tracks, slow speeds present problems down the track for riders and necessary public subsidies.
An additional problem is that the 3-C may sit idle for years due to a lack of available rolling stock -- engines and passenger cars -- that will carry passengers for over six and one-half hours from Cincinnati to Cleveland with a couple stops in between including one in Columbus, the state capital and mid-way point.
Railroad experts have also determined, based on the 3-C train schedule provided by ORDC, that no round-trip between Cincinnati or Cleveland is possible in the same day, a problem that will strand travelers from returning home the same day. This will be good for some, like lodgers and restaurants in Columbus, where riders will be forced to overnight before returning home the next day, but it's a fact of scheduling that has been ignored by many including the media.
While Brown and Voinovich appear to be on-board with the 3-C, the same cannot be said for four Republican congressmen, who have questioned the need of stimulus spending in general and spending on the 3-C in particular, because they see it adding unnecessarily to the national debt.
Congressmen Bob Latta (OH-5), Jim Jordan (OH-4), Steve Austria (OH-7) and House GOP Minority Leader John Boehner (OH-8) are being targeted to get "on board" with the 3-C.
The FRA is expected to make announcements for high speed rail funds later this year but no later than early spring of next year.
http://www.examiner.com/x-23537-Columbus-Government-Examiner~y2009m9d14-Many-Ohioans-not-onboard-slow-3C-train-to-the-past
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