Need For New Trains Drives Up Ohio Rail Plan Cost

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Amtrak has put a nearly $518 million price tag on Ohio's plan to restore passenger train service to its major cities, a higher-than-expected cost driven by the need to buy new rail cars that challenges the state's goal of running trains as early as 2011.

Amtrak's inventory is tight, and because of the significant number of train sets and coaches required to launch service connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati, about $175 million in new equipment is needed instead of refurbishing cars currently in storage, the agency recommended in a study released last week. That would bump up the expected cost to $517.6 million, Amtrak said. State transportation officials had anticipated the overall cost to be lower, closer to $400 million.

Designing and delivering the new train cars would take several years, Amtrak said.

"I think 2011 is pushing it," said Ken Prendergast, executive director of All Aboard Ohio, a rail advocacy group.

The much-anticipated Amtrak study gave Ohio the key data it needs to meet an Oct. 2 deadline to apply for a slice of $8 billion in federal stimulus money that President Barack Obama has set aside for rail projects. Front-runners appear to be high-speed rail projects in the Midwest and California.

Amtrak predicted that startup service in Ohio, with conventional-speed trains running up to 79 mph, would draw 478,000 riders each year, comparable to the agency's Chicago to St. Louis route, which has similar demographics. About 6 million people live along the 255-mile Ohio route, making it one of the most heavily populated corridors without rail service in the Midwest.

The study projected revenue of $12 million a year, with Ohio having to kick in an additional $17 million operating subsidy.

But the study forces the state to take a hard look at equipment costs and to consider upping its stimulus request.

Despite Amtrak's assessment, Ohio will keep 2011 as its goal to begin service, said Stu Nicholson, spokesman for the Ohio Rail Development Commission, the state agency in charge of seeking stimulus funding.

Amtrak recommends that Ohio invest in five train sets - each made up of a locomotive and control car, five coach cars and a food service car with business class seating.

Equipment costs could be driven down if states make bulk purchases, Prendergast said. In July, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and seven other Midwest governors pledged to coordinate stimulus bids and lobbying efforts.

Amtrak's study, while extensive, also didn't address the costs that cities on the route would have to pay to build stations, which, depending on their size and features, can cost as low as $2 million or as much as the $26.4 million transportation hub that opened last year in St. Louis.

"We let local communities decide what makes the most sense for them," Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. The agency works with cities to help identify government grants to help cover costs.

Ohio cities would need to provide stations with appropriate platforms, parking and waiting areas, the study said. Amtrak recommends six stops: downtown locations in the four major cities, along with intermediate stops in west Cleveland and Sharonville north of Cincinnati.

Mayors have endorsed the rail project but aren't ready to talk about specific plans to build train stations at a time when the recession is forcing city budget cuts and layoffs.

"At this point, the train project is still a proposal, and we're just not there yet," said Dan Williamson, spokesman for Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman.

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