COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Federal Railroad Administration approved funding on Tuesday for the planning of four passenger rail routes across the state.
Senator Sherrod Brown announced two of the routes will cross through Ohio.
The Midwest corridor will connect Chicago and Pittsburgh through Columbus and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The second corridor called 3C+D will run through Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati.
"It's a great day, it's phenomenal, like I said I’m still kind of peeling myself off the ceiling with the good news,” said Stu Nicholson, the former Executive Director of All Aboard Ohio. He also works with the Rail Passenger Association.
Nicholson said for years he and others have advocated for a passenger rail to come through Central Ohio.
"That's seven or eight trains a day that we don't have, and you can travel in any direction,” said Nicholson.
The FRA will give half a million dollars to each announced corridor for planning under the corridor identification program.
"We're looking at a revolution in terms of inner city and inner state travel,” said Nicholson.
The FRA will give $500,000 to each announced corridor for planning under the Corridor Identification program.
📺 10TV+ is available for free: Stay up to date on what's happening in your community with a 24/7 live stream and on demand content from 10TV — available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV.
📧 Subscribe to the Wake Up CBUS newsletter featuring the best stories, personally curated by members of our staff and delivered via email by 6 a.m., Monday through Friday.