Southeastern Ohio Not Included....

Arp2 · Post by **Arp2** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:16 pm

Southeastern Ohio is not included in Ohio's proposed/planned tie-in to the "Midwest Regional Rail Initiative" high-speed passenger rail network.

But West Virginia, with multiple daily trains through Weirton and a Cincinnati connection with the Amtrak train that travels through WV to Washington, is.

http://www.ohiohub.com/

(Personally, I wouldn't think it would matter much...the whole thing sounds like "boondoggle in the making.")

Big Media · Post by **Big Media** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:27 pm

Didn't the air plane replace the passenger train in like 1942 or something (for things other than site seeing and commuting)?

AmpedNow · Post by **AmpedNow** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:43 pm

Actually, I think high speed rail lines that connect to more cities is a good thing in the long term. For people who fear flying, and need to get somewhere fast, this is much better than driving.

If they can keep ticket prices below standard airline fares, they might actually become more competitive. Also, if they close down most of these little train stations and create regional hubs instead, that would make for faster time as well.

The biggest obstacle is our "drive everywhere" culture... And I'm just as guilty. If I can drive to somewhere within a day, that's my first choice.

genlock · Post by **genlock** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:49 pm

The thought of a passenger train going 200 mph scares the hell out of me. Rail might be statistically safer than flying today, but nobody can get drunk and drive a pickup truck in front of your plane.
The Powatan Arrow was a beautiful sight tho,
Screaming along at 80mph thru williamson and on to Richmond.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:55 pm

Why am I thinking of the Simpsons' "Springfield Monorail" episode?

Ace Purple · Post by **Ace Purple** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:02 pm

cgarison · Post by **cgarison** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:46 am

So it is cheaper to build new rail through OH than to use the existing rails along the river? In the northeast corider, they used exiting track and mad the trains with a unique suspension that could handle the sharp turns.

FWIW: I take the train to NYC quite often and I prefer NJ Transit over Amtrak. And the Acela is grossly overrated.

Arp2 · Post by **Arp2** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:10 am

cgarison wrote:So it is cheaper to build new rail through OH than to use the existing rails along the river?

Huh? Which river?

For the routes shown, some might need to be upgraded and/or doubletracked, but all those lines already exist and have for probably a hundred or more years.