CRESTLINE — More than 400 people in and around Crestline voiced their support for a local Amtrak station on Thursday.
The village hosted an informative session on its next steps toward bringing passenger rail service to town, led by All Aboard Ohio.
“The state of Ohio recently passed its two-year budget, and they’ve dedicated $13.5 billion for transportation,” said Brin Schriver, board member for All Aboard Ohio. “All we’re asking is for a little bit of that investment to be going into passenger rail.”
The Federal Railroad Administration dedicated $500,000 to developing Corridor Identification programs for four corridors in Ohio. The Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati, abbreviated to the 3C+D corridor, includes Crestline.
Crestline Mayor Linda Horning-Pitt said she thinks train service will bring “a huge economic impact” to the village and surrounding communities.
“It’s not just about Crestline,” she said. “It’s about the entire area — Richland, Crawford, Morrow and Ashland County. There’s over 300,000 people who live in a 35-mile radius of Crestline.”
Derrick James, Amtrak Midwest director for government affairs, said he wanted to coin the corridor “the 4C and D line” to include a station in the village.
Horning-Pitt said she was excited that Crestline was included in the Federal Railroad Administration’s corridor finalists for planning grants, but there are still additional steps before a station is confirmed.
“The state will have to pony up 10% of the cost of the next step,” she said. “I think a lot of our representatives think nobody’s going to ride the train over a car, and I’m thinking ‘I don’t let my 85-year-old parents drive to Columbus.’
“I don’t even like driving to Columbus because of the congestion.”
All Aboard Ohio provides a contact sheet of legislators online as well as letter examples to customize.
James said it’s difficult to nail down a timeline this early in the process, but Horning-Pitt said she is hoping for train service in town by 2030.
How much will this cost the state and what economic incentives exist?
Schriver presented an economic impact study on the 3C+D passenger rail corridor, funded by All Aboard Ohio.
“This study is based on past projections and past ridership numbers so we’re very confident in those terms,” he said. “We’re in the feasibility scoping phase that determines cost, schedule and budget.”
John Esterly, also from All Aboard Ohio, said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed in 2021, provides 90% of the funding for Step Two — a service development plan.
“We are leveraging a substantial amount of federal dollars with not much needed from the state to make it happen, so this is an incredible opportunity,” he said.
“There’s some exciting news with the routes the Federal Railroad Administration wants to bring back too, they’re looking at Detroit to New Orleans and New York to Dallas, which both pass through the 3C+D.”
Rob Moore, principal for public policy analyst firm Scioto Analysis, said the economic impact study only covered the jobs and revenue expected from a new train station.
“We were only looking at hard dollars and cents here,” he said. “We have not looked at the decrease in car emissions and car accidents this would cause.”
Moore referenced a commentary piece that he wrote in the Ohio Capital Journal about Amtrak coverage around the state.
“I looked at different scenarios, and realized in the worst-case scenario, the state would have to spend $10 million a year for passenger rail,” he said.
“I found 319 different line items in the state budget where we spend that much. So my question from an investment standpoint is: ‘Is this within the top 319 most important things for the state?’ ”
According to the economic impact study, Moore said estimates found between 11,000 to 21,000 people will use a Crestline station annually, which translates to anywhere from $500,000 to $1.2 million in revenue.
What should Crestline do to prepare for Amtrak?
James said the top speed for trains in most of the country is about 80 miles per hour. He said frequently traveled trains and corridors with plenty of investment can go as fast as 110 miles per hour.
The Amtrak Midwest director answered resident questions during Thursday’s town hall, including what the village should do to maximize its economic opportunity with the railroad.
“What advice do you have for us as a village and county, other than reaching out to our elected officials?” asked Courtney Moody from the Crawford County Council on Aging.
“What are other things that we can be doing to make ourselves ready and maybe more attractive to the state to make this happen?”
James suggested the village plan for activities and visitor accommodations around the train station in the downtown area.
“Crestline already has some density here from its foundation as a railroad town in the 1850s,” he said. “Make sure you have places for them to spend their money and a hotel downtown.
“One of the challenges when I travel around my territories, if I take the train, is there’s no hotel downtown where the train station is, most of the hotels moved to the four-lane highway.”
Horning-Pitt also said downtown Crestline currently hosts two AirBnbs.
“I’d love to have destinations and tours around town too to show the train riders around,” she said. “We have the restaurants and unique shops already, and I think the space to grow as well.”
Above is a livestream video of Thursday’s meeting from The Crestline Spark podcast.
