Aug. 19—Hamitlon City Council will consider hiring a passenger rail consultant to give the city its best shot at what Councilman Mike Ryan said is a one-time only opportunity.
For the past couple of years, the city has been lobbying Amtrak and lawmakers to get one of the suburban stops in Hamilton for the new 3C+D line and the expansion of the Cardinal line. He said a $30,000 payment for a consultant that will tell them "everything we need to know" to get one or two stops is worth the investment.
"We've been working on this for a couple of years now and I really appreciate all the effort staff has put in to this," said Ryan, who has been the council's liaison with Amtrak during this process. "I agree it's time we take this to the next step and get the real numbers, get the real story here."
Michael Gurr, project manager with Hamilton's Public Works Department, said while the city's engineering department has done great work with its due diligence, "to try to gain traction, we need to hire a professional consultant."
The $30,000 price tag is in line with what others have paid for rail consultants, and the localized study would take about nine months.
This next step, Ryan said, will be showing lawmakers and decision-makers in Columbus and Washington, D.C. that "we're pretty serious about this."
Amtrak is investing more than $50 billion, which includes modernizing trains, building new stations and facilities, adding new routes, and adding new infrastructure. The expansion has congressional and presidential support. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act invested $22 billion over five years in the effort after it was passed in 2021. The Federal Rail Administration in 2023 provided $10 billion to Amtrak to modernize critical infrastructure.
Amtrak's vision for Ohio is to have in service by 2035 a new 3C+D corridor, which will travel from Cincinnati to Cleveland with stops in Dayton and Columbus. This new line is estimated to see between 400,000 to 500,000 riders annually. New hubs and stops are planned to be added to this 3C+D conceptual route, and Hamilton, as well as nearby Sharonville, are being considered for suburban Cincinnati stops.
Amtrak is also expanding the Cardinal line, which travels from New York to Chicago. Oxford, which is one of the new stops, is constructing its hub. Hamilton is also being considered for a Cardinal line stop.
The Ohio Rail Development Commission is scheduled to select a consulting firm soon, Gurr said. Phase 1 of a 10-month study will investigate the viability of the route. Phase 2, which hasn't been funded yet, would study the selection of the train stops and safety upgrades needed.
CSX and Norfolk Southern are being considered by the ORDC to be the rail operators of the line.
While some sites have been pitched, the city has not settled on any sites, though the corner of Maple Avenue and MLK Jr. Boulevard and the former Beckett Paper Mill have been two discussed for the 3C+D route. Part of Symmes Park had been discussed as a possible location for a stop for the Cardinal route.
A Hamilton Amtrak train station would likely need about two acres for parking and would cost about $14 million to $15 million. Gurr said there is grant funding possible that could provide up to 80%. The cost estimates would be updated as part of the study.
At this time, it's unknown how much maintenance costs would total.
"We know the benefits it would create here in our town," Ryan said. "Not just for our residents, but for our businesses and additional economic development opportunities."
©2024 Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio). Visit www.journal-news.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
