Dietrich briefs OKI on status of $4.3B Ohio Hub Plan

The board of directors of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) received an update on a proposed high-speed passenger rail network at their meeting last Thursday.

Matthew Dietrich, executive director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC), told the board that we have reached what "seems like the perfect storm of the need for efficient shipping, environmental awareness and stopping congestion on our highways".

The $4.3 billion Ohio Hub Plan is envisioned as part of a 1,244-mile interstate rail network serving 22 million people in five states and Ontario, Canada.

ORDC studies predict a 1.54:1 return on investment with over 9 million riders annually.

Passenger train travel times are predicted to be competitive with the automobile, and fares would be competitve with air travel.

If fully funded, the plan would take approximately seven years to implement and would have a significant impact on upgrading the state's railroad infrastructure, improving the efficiency of freight transportation as well.

A Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati rail corridor is one of four for which the ORDC is seeking federal funding to study environmental impacts.

But according to Dietrich, no federal program exists to provide such funding.

"We're seeking resolutions of support to send to our Ohio congressional delegation," he says.

Mark Policinski, executive director of OKI, says that rail development is crucial to the viability of the region.

"A great freight tsunami is coming," he says.  "The ability of this region to efficiently move people and goods will determine its competitiveness with other regions and nations.  If we do not, we risk an economic irrelevance that will undermine our jobs, our incomes and our future."

Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Sources: Matthew Dietrich, executive director, ORDC; Mark Policinski, executive director, OKI