Ohio has a new fat wallet

It looks like Cleveland did get the $400 million federal stimulus money to invest in passenger rail. Ted Strickland made the announcement on January 28th, actually...I will post the video below.

There is so much information about the rail, even the feasbility report is posted in pdf form before the rail service was funded.Read all about it here.

Some statistics that are mentioned in support of the rail:

• Every $1 invested in passenger rail development can generate $3 in economic benefits-this is according to federal formulas from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
  
• It would serve more than 478,000 passengers in its first year of operation
• 73% of Ohioans from the ages of 18-34 support passenger rail in Ohio

And this rail is not going without criticisms. Rhetoric like "snail rail" has been used against the project...working off of the Amtrak statistics that because the line will operate on existing freight lines between the three cities, at times it could only travel as fast as a freight. One speed quoted was 35mph...making a trip to Cincinnati from Cleveland 6.5 hours.

 

An adoption of a passenger rail, I thought, may lead to a high speed line.After rider numbers begin to grow, significant investments are usually made to improve speed.However, given the fact the 3C will be operating on existing freight lines, this may not be a possibility. I really don't know how disappointing traveling only 35 mph would be, especially if we are making use of a more obsolete form of commodity transportation, like freight, and instead getting passengers on the line and making the 3 city commute more efficient. Saving those lines and using them for more modern mass transit sounds like a bonus given previous infrastructure costs.

Here is a argumentative article on the rail, which makes good points through the eyes of direct critics and people who know the rail lines and their capacity for high speed. I also stumbled across a blog that was written in criticism of the rail. What do you think this rail could mean for Ohio.

I will note that environmental groups like EcoWatch Journal have supported this line from the beginning. It'd be interesting to see if their support shifts after the rail begins to operate.