Do you support the proposed Ohio Rail (3-C Connector)? (Columbus: home, construction jobs)

[JR_C]

Originally Posted by YaFace

Some of you will say: "Well there are people who need this type of service!" Let them take Greyhound. Will get them there faster and cheaper than this stupid train idea ever will. This is 2009, why in the hell are we talking about putting trains up? This isn't 1920.

I've taken the Greyhound from Youngstown to Cleveland (and back) a few times now. Every time, the bus should have left the station in Youngstown at 5:25pm. But, I haven't arrived in Cleveland before 9:30pm yet. I think even a conventional train could make that trip in less than 4 hours.

IMHO, establishing passenger rail service between cities that don't have it yet as a step toward high speed rail someday. This is 2009, why are we talking about expanding highways? This isn't 1960.

[215GUY]

How fast will the trains go? I live in Dayton it takes me 3 hours to get to Cleveland, will the train get me there any faster then driving? But i am glad this state is finally moving foward, when i first moved here from Philadephia i was shocked that there was no bus or train from Cincy to Dayton.

[Ohioan58]

Originally Posted by 215GUY

But i am glad this state is finally moving foward, when i first moved here from Philadephia i was shocked that there was no bus or train from Cincy to Dayton.

Two things - most of Ohio doesn't have the population density to support rail transit. And, since you're from Philly it would be helpful to think of the area between Cincinnati on the south and Dayton's core on the north as a "South Jersey" type area that grew pretty quickly from the 40s to today. It wasn't that long ago that Dayton, Middletown, and Cincinnati thought and acted like separate cities. The merging together into a big blob is pretty recent.

In other words, South Jersey would be like Butler or Warren county if it had not developed so early. It would not have rail lines either. You now see kind of the same population sprawl in Butler Cty as in, say, Burlington County in NJ.

There used to be a network called the interurban railways before the Depression that connected most towns of any consequence in SW Ohio, but those were all dismantled as cars took over basic travel needs.

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by Ohioan58

There used to be a network called the interurban railways before the Depression that connected most towns of any consequence in SW Ohio, but those were all dismantled as cars took over basic travel needs.

... and now we're figuring out they're not the answer?

Two things - most of Ohio doesn't have the population density to support rail transit. And, since you're from Philly it would be helpful to think of the area between Cincinnati on the south and Dayton's core on the north as a "South Jersey" type area that grew pretty quickly from the 40s to today. It wasn't that long ago that Dayton, Middletown, and Cincinnati thought and acted like separate cities. The merging together into a big blob is pretty recent.

We have the density to support this system, there are smaller population density states that currently have rail.

Ohio is the 7th most populous state and the 16th smallest in land area.

[RememberMee]

Originally Posted by YaFace

This is 2009, why in the hell are we talking about putting trains up? This isn't 1920.

Train's energy consumption (per pound of payload) is 25% of that for heavy trucks and probably 10% of that for personal cars. This is 2020, trains are the future in scarce/expensive energy world. Car dependent American dinosaur is like a gigantic death trap waiting its time to strike.

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by RememberMee

Train's energy consumption (per pound of payload) is 25% of that for heavy trucks and probably 10% of that for personal cars. This is 2020, trains are the future in scarce/expensive energy world. Car dependent American dinosaur is like a gigantic death trap waiting its time to strike.

YEP! lol

Actually, think about it ... I was reading a large article in USA Today and they were discussing the high cost of filling in roads and completing road repairs because of the high cost of oil - so they're just deserting road projects ... even if all vehicles go electric, when gas goes to $200/barrel, what will happen to our roads?! It seems like our country is made up of idiots that do not think out past 5 years? What is going on???

[JefferyT]

There used to be a network called the interurban railways before the Depression that connected most towns of any consequence in SW Ohio, but those were all dismantled as cars took over basic travel needs.

I've studied the interurbans radiating out of Dayton and their influence on development patterns.

Losing this was a big loss. Not only that there was a rural bus service. In the 1920s and early 1930s the Dayton area had a true multi-modal transit system, where public transit was a viable alternative to automobiles. You actually had a choice between driving or taking some form of mass transit.

[JefferyT]

Car dependent American dinosaur is like a gigantic death trap waiting its time to strike.

...compared to a place like, say, Germany, we ill be are well and truely screwed when the crunch comes.

[db108108]

Wow, you can get to Cincinnati faster than a train travelling 80 mph, which could increase to 110 mph in time? Pick me up in Columbus along the way - I've got to see this!

[BelieveInCleve]

Originally Posted by YaFace

This is such a stupid idea that I cannot even comprehend why this would ever be brought up. For one, I can drive to Columbus in about two hours, Cincinnati in around four. Can this train get there faster than that? Nope, not a chance. So we are left with a giant federal boondoggle that we have to pay 20 mil a year to maintain, and this WILL lose money. Let some other community that actually needs this have it.

Some of you will say: "Well there are people who need this type of service!" Let them take Greyhound. Will get them there faster and cheaper than this stupid train idea ever will. This is 2009, why in the hell are we talking about putting trains up? This isn't 1920.

This will probably pass though, because some stupid hippie dreamers who hate cars will force it through. I got a better use for that $500 million, build a direct freeway from Toledo to Columbus, and widen I-71 in Morrow County so it is three lanes instead of that disasterous two. We need to be thinking FORWARD, not BACKWARD. What else will you tremendous geniuses come up with: more telegraph lines, and milkman only traffic lanes? Get real!

I believe the trains will be going at 79+ MPH, seeing that if you took the highway you'd be going on average maybe 55 MPH yes it is faster. There won't be that many stops in between so I can't imagine taking the train would take longer than driving.

Actually trains ARE the future, have you seen what they're doing in Asia now? Japan is years ahead of us as far as technology and they're doing it. Those will be going a lot faster though, but ours will be made to go faster in time.