Ohio Passenger Rail
ALL ABOARD OHIO
Assessment of Needs
FINDINGS SUMMARY
Ohio's neighboring states are leaving us behind at the station...
ILLINOIS – Invested $2+ billion in passenger rail statewide since 2000:
• Amtrak operates 56 passenger trains per day in and through Illinois at up to 110 mph.
• Serves 4.6 million riders at Illinois stations, a ridership increase of 76% since 2003.
• Of the 56 trains, Illinois Department of Transportation sponsored 30 daily trains at $38.3
million in 2016 that provided service in four regional corridors with 2 million annual riders.
• Amtrak purchased more than $243 million worth of goods and services in Illinois in 2016.
• 1,415 Illinois residents were employed by Amtrak in 2016 with wages totaling $103 million.
“None of this could have happened without the leadership of Gov. Bruce Rauner and his commitment to
keeping Illinois the transportation hub of North America. When we are done, we will have strengthened
the connections between our cities, institutions, schools and universities, tourist destinations and
places of employment, just to name a few.” – Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn
PENNSYLVANIA – $1 billion in transit investment results in economic growth:
• Pennsylvania is one of only seven states that provide more than $1 billion annually in statelevel funding for public transportation.
• There are more than 120 passenger trains per day in Pennsylvania at up to 125 mph.
• Serves more than 6 million people a year at Pennsylvania stations, up 50% in the last decade.
• Pennsylvania Department of Transportation sponsors 28 daily trains at $14.5 million/year.
• Amtrak purchased $228 million worth of goods and services in Pennsylvania in 2016.
• 2,791 Pennsylvania residents were employed by Amtrak in 2016 with wages of $226 million.
“We will create the 'Connect Pennsylvania' collaborative which would leverage private dollars to kickstart projects that will increase Pennsylvania's economic competitiveness, such as high-speed rail that
allows Pennsylvania manufacturers to move products from Philadelphia to Chicago in three hours.”
– Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf
MICHIGAN – $800 million investment over a decade boosted ridership 60%:
• Michigan has 10 passenger trains per day at up to 110 mph.
• 800,000 annual riders on Michigan trains.
• Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) sponsors the 10 Amtrak trains for $25
million per year from its Comprehensive Transportation Fund that funds public transit too.
• Michigan's 22 communities with Amtrak stations enjoy $62 million annually in quantifiable
benefits (per an MDOT-commissioned Grand Valley State University study in 2009 – before
ridership grew 60% from the state's major upgrading of the Wolverine Corridor to 110 mph).
“Michigan can be the centerpiece of a broader logistical connection that goes all the way from St. Louis
to Chicago to Detroit and continues on to Toronto and Montreal with Detroit right in the heart of it. Rail
can solve some real problems. It can be economically efficient and contribute to sustainability and also
an urban lifestyle, something our young people are looking for.” – Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder
Data is from each state's department of transportation and Amtrak.
Ohio Passenger Rail Needs / Summary / 1
Dare To Compare...
State-led capital State purchase
improvements
of service
2007-17
funds/year
Daily
passenger
trains
Annual Amtrak Annual benefits
ridership in this (includes wage
multiplier of 1.5)
state
State
Population
Illinois
11.9 million
$2 billion
$38.3 million
56
4.6 million
$398 million
Indiana
6.6 million
$100 million
$3.4 million
15
134,000
$103 million
Michigan
9.9 million
$800 million
$25 million
10
800,000
$69 million
Missouri
6.1 million
$71 million
$9 million
14
700,000
$40-70 million
New York
19.8 million
$20 billion
$44.33 million
140
12.6 million
$414 million
Ontario
13.6 million
$31.5 billion
$40 million
46
3 million (Via)
N/A
Pennsylvania
12.8 million
$900 million
$14.5 million
120
6 million
$567 million
Wisconsin
5.8 million
$60 million
$6.8 million
16
900,000
$21.9 million
OHIO
11.6 million
$1.6 million
$0
5
142,000
$30.4 million
Data is from each state's department of transportation and Amtrak.(or Government of Ontario/Via Rail Canada)
Passenger Rail – a special public-private partnership:
In many places of the United States of America, Amtrak owns, maintains, manages, improves and operates the
tracks, signals, traffic control systems, stations, bridges, police forces and trains. It's like the airlines, bus companies,
air traffic control system, highway patrol, highway department and more – all rolled into one. And where it doesn't
own the tracks, the private sector does. Thus it is the inverse of the public-private partnership for all other modes
of transportation where the public sector owns the roads and airports that are used by private-sector vehicles.
How much do federal modes cover their costs from customers?
AMTRAK1
FEDERAL AVIATION2
FEDERAL HIGHWAYS3
94%
88%
78%
1 National Railroad Passenger Corp., Amtrak Delivers Strong FY 2016 Financial Results, Nov. 17, 2016
2 Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) Fact Sheet, Federal Aviation Administration, 2016
3 Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Highway Trust Fund Highway Account Receipts and Outlays, Fiscal Years 2000-2014, 2015
Fewer cars, with or without drivers, make cities more livable:
Cities and passenger rail thrive on density, mixed uses and walkability. Cities and trains nurture each other.
Cars need lots of space and pavement – the antithesis of enjoyable small-town and big-city central districts.
Ohio Passenger Rail Needs / Summary / 2
Ohio's Immediate Rail Needs
Ohio is served very little by passenger rail because Ohio invests very little in rail...
Let's get Ohio on board with these affordable, immediate needs in the next two years...
PROJECT
TOTAL INVESTMENT
IMMEDIATE NEED
Bryan rail station (replace w/ ADA-compliant station, platform, parking)
$1.2 million
$1.2 million
Cincinnati station (add track, switches and widen platform)
$4.75 million
$4.75 million
Up to $60 million
$2 million
Columbus-Lima-Chicago (Alternatives Analysis/Service Dev. Plan)
$700,000
$350,000
Elyria/Lorain County Transportation & Community Ctr (construction)
$9 million
$500,000
Up to $5 million
$1.5 million
$1.2 million
$500,000
Up to $11.5 million
$1 million
Sandusky multi-modal station (ADA platform, site/facility renovations)
$2.2 million
$2 million
Toledo MLK Plaza station (resurface platforms, add overhead access)
$5 million
$3.8 million
$250 million
$4 million
$2 million
$2 million
Cleveland multi-modal transportation center (environmental planning)
Mentor multi-modal station (environmental planning)
Oxford train station (construct new Amtrak station)
Ravenna-Kent multi-modal station (environmental planning)
Toledo Maumee River new rail bridge (environmental planning)
Toledo-Cleveland (Tier 1 Enviro. Impact Statement/Service Dev. Plan)
TWO-YEAR TOTAL
$23.6 million
All of the above projects are sought by local/regional stakeholders who can begin planning, break ground or complete these
projects within the time frame of the Ohio Department of Transportation's 2018-19 biennial budget.
Ohio Passenger Rail Needs / Summary / 3
Ohio Public Policy Recommendations
All Aboard Ohio has identified a variety of Ohio Department of Transportation sources from which passenger rail
and public transit development may be funded in compliance with Ohio laws:
THESE CAN BE FLEXED TO RAIL AT AMOUNTS UP TO:
General Revenue Funds
MAX. ANNUAL AMOUNT (2018 $)
No Maximum
Ohio “Off-Road” fuel taxes
$36 million
Turnpike Infrastructure “Nexus” projects
$17 million
Ohio share of Volkswagen Settlement
$7.5 million
Ohio Logo Signing Program profits
$7 million
Toll Revenue Credit Authority
$5 million
Specialized Interest License Plates revenue
$5 million
ODOT telecom lease revenues
$2 million
Bus registration/CDL fees
$1.3 million
TOTAL
$80.8 million
NOTE: only state funds are shown (except toll revenue credits which instead allow more federal funds to be used
in lieu of a local match). They can and should be used to leverage federal transit and federal railroad funds. Even if
these state funding amounts aren't augmented with local and private funds, they could generate significant annual
investment in passenger rail and public transportation. In total, the amount could exceed $400 million per year.
Policy Issue: Currently, oversight of passenger rail development in Ohio is proscribed by statute to the Ohio
Rail Development Commission (ORDC). Meanwhile passenger rail capital improvements have increasingly been
funded by ODOT's Office of Transit which has fewer and less costly bureaucratic hurdles in the approval process.
Also, many of Ohio's passenger rail needs include multi-modal station facilities that are or would be served by
public transportation as well.
Policy objectives for the ODOT Biennial Budget of 2018-19:
✔ Fund passenger rail development from one or more of the above sources at $11.8 million per year of the
2018-19 biennium.
✔ Change the oversight jurisdiction of passenger rail development from the Ohio Rail Development
Commission to the ODOT Office of Transit.
Ken Prendergast
Executive Director
All Aboard Ohio
230 West Huron Rd. #85.53
Cleveland, OH 44113
(844) 464-7245
[email protected]
Robert Doyle
CEO/President
The Doyle Group
2824 Torrey Pines
Beavercreek, OH 45431
(937) 478-6361
[email protected]
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