Ohio’s four Corridor ID Program Routes as part of the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor ID program. (Screen grab from the Ohio Rail Plan).
The Ohio Rail Development Commission recently approved millions in grant assistance for five freight projects as passenger rail proposals undergo federal studies.
The commission approved more than $2.3 million in grant assistance for five projects for the Ohio Rail Plan, a federally required document that is updated every four years.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The Rail Commission approved:
-
A $350,000 grant to First Quality Tissue Midwest, LLC for installing rail infrastructure to help the company’s new plant in Defiance.
-
A $1.2 million grant to rehab a bridge on Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway’s Rook Subdivision in Tuscarawas County.
-
A $174,000 grant to Wilmington Iron & Metal Company (Clinton County) to grow its on-site rail capacity.
-
A $497,875 grant to RJ Corman Railroad Company to support a project rehab part of the St. Marys Subdivision in Mercer and Auglaize counties.
-
A $150,000 grant to the Kraft Heinz facility in Fremont (Sandusky County).
“These five projects represent a significant commitment to improved safety and economic development in the state,” Ohio Rail Development Commission Executive Director Matthew Dietrich said in a statement. “Together these projects demonstrate just how important rail is to Ohio’s economy.”
Passenger rail
The first round of the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor ID Program was announced in late 2023 and 69 routes were selected, including four Ohio routes. The program involves intercity passenger rail planning.
Ohio’s four routes are 3C&D (Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland); Cleveland – Toledo – Dayton; Midwest Connect (Chicago – Ft. Wayne – Lima – Columbus – Pittsburgh); and Amtrak Cardinal enhancements.
The Ohio Rail Development Commission is sponsoring studies for the 3C+D Corridor and the Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit Corridor.
The initial 3C&D Corridor proposal includes three daily round trips; and it could add 1,100 jobs and add more than $100 million to Ohio’s economy, according to All Aboard Ohio, a nonprofit that advocates for public transportation and passenger rail.
Midwest Connect is sponsored by the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. It envisions two to four daily round trips, according to the Ohio Rail Plan.
Amtrak’s Cardinal route connects New York to Chicago with stops along the way in Washington, D.C., Charlottesville, Cincinnati and Indianapolis. It currently runs three times a week, but it could possibly run everyday.
Despite the efforts at the federal level, All Aboard Ohio was disappointed there was not more about passenger rail in the Ohio Rail Plan, said All Aboard Ohio Executive Director John Esterly.
“Since these projects are so large scale, and since it’s something that has been very clearly demonstrated to be a priority for many Ohioans, it seemed like a bit of an oversight that there wasn’t more in there about passenger rail,” Esterly said. “It is almost exclusively a document describing freight rail and freight rail expansion in Ohio.”
There is a 13-page chapter in the Ohio Rail Plan on passenger rail.
“I’ll be honest, it was a little puzzling to me because there’s an entire chapter,” Dietrich said. “It’s a very prescriptive format that we have to follow to be federally compliant.”
The Rail Commission submitted the first step for their two routes over the summer and the next step is when detailed planning and design happens. Amtrak also submitted the first step for the Cardinal route.
“The next step in the process that we’re waiting for approval from the FRA is to develop those studies,” Dietrich said. “And those studies will develop something called the Service Development Plan, which will provide capital cause from ridership estimates, equipment needs (and) scheduling.”
Slightly more than three quarters (78.4%) of Ohioans say enhancing the rail network is important or very important, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s 2024 Transportation Preference Survey.
Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky.
