Photo Courtesy Wikipedia
MARYSVILLE – As you probably are aware, passenger railroad service is available extensively in the northeast corridor of the United States and throughout western Europe.
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), noting the massive population influx to Central Ohio, is considering bringing a similar passenger rail service to Central Ohio now that it has the population to support it. MORPC has therefore formed an ad hoc passenger rail committee as part of the kickoff of the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development (CID) Program study committee to look into bringing passenger rail service to Central Ohio to include Marysville. Members from all over the Central Ohio region have been appointed to this committee and Marysville City Manager Terry Emery was recently tagged as the Chairman of the ad hoc committee.
Mr. Emery said the formation of the committee is the very first of step what will likely prove to be a long process to bring passenger rail to Central Ohio, but overall the idea is gaining traction and, in the end, makes a lot of sense for Marysville, the Columbus metro area and the counties that encircle Columbus.
Mr. Emery reiterated the project may take as long as a decade to come to fruition, but, he continued, he believes that the realization of passenger rail service which serves Marysville and the surrounding area is an excellent one and said he is excited to be part of the committee to explore the options.
Mr. Emery said that the primary focus of the committee at present are two rail lines which currently exist, the first which is commonly known as the “3C” Railroad as it connects Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland, and the second being the Midwest Connect line, which runs between Chicago and Pittsburgh and passes directly through Marysville and Columbus.
The committee has any number of variables that it has to explore to get the passenger rail online, for lack of a better word, but Mr. Emery said the first thing on the agenda, in his words is “Pursuing funding to do studies to see exactly what it going to take bring these lines through the Central Ohio.” The funding needed for such a project, he continued, will most likely come from the federal and state sources.
The long-term possibilities of passenger rail services could prove to be a huge boon to Marysville, Mr. Emery said, noting that tying the Marysville depot into the Water and Light District is a perfect fit, pointing out that Marysville, unlike many other communities in the Columbus metro area, has railroad tracks running right through the center of Uptown. This makes Marysville a prime location for securing a stop on any passenger rail line.
“(Passenger rail service) is very appealing to us,” Mr. Emery said. “Think of people from other areas who want to stop here in Marysville. They could walk right from the train into our Uptown and shop and go to restaurants and enjoy what our Uptown has to offer. This is not just for transporting people from Marysville elsewhere, but for bringing people into Marysville.”
Passenger rail service to and from Marysville could be used for everything from short jaunts to Columbus – to the Convention Center or a Blue Jackets game, for instance – to longer daytrips to the Windy City for shopping, Michelin-starred restaurants, concerts, sporting events, you name it. Being an unabashed Cleveland Browns fan, Mr. Emery said he would jump at the chance to take a train trip to Pittsburgh to see the Browns take on their hated rival Steelers in the Steel City, this without having to worry about making the drive, gas prices, traffic, parking, and the like.
“There’s just so many benefits to having these alternative methods of transport,” Mr. Emery said. “If we can build a passenger rail system here in Central Ohio, it might go a long way to alleviating traffic issues around the Columbus area now and what they are going to be in the future.”
In addition to Mr. Emery, the other members on the committee include Joe Antram, Logan County; Christine Boucher, Columbus Region Logistics Council; Michelle Crandall, City of Hilliard; Bill Habig, Granville Township; Jeff Hall, City of Newark; Paul Brake, City of Delaware; Quincy Howard, COMTO; Megan O’Callaghan, City of Dublin; Kelly Scocco, City of Columbus; Robin Stewart, City of Worthington; Monica Tellez-Fowler, COTA; and Tim Wilson, Delaware County.
