From November 18 to 20, I had the privilege of representing Ohio at the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission annual meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota. I gained valuable insights and connections to advance passenger rail in our state, and I wanted to share my main takeaways.
1. State-sponsored train travel works
Those who followed along with my journey from Cincinnati to St. Paul saw that I got to ride the Borealis, Amtrak’s newest state-sponsored route. This service, which connects Chicago to St. Paul via Milwaukee, has been an immediate success, with more than 100,000 passengers in its first 22 weeks.
On the trip, attendees heard from FRA Administrator Amit Bose and from leadership at the Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of transportation. We learned about the cooperation required from host railroads and the importance of close coordination between state DOTs, Amtrak, the FRA, and local communities. We also learned that service was able to start before all the improvements had been built, a testament to the relationship the team has with its host railroad.
As for the ride, it was beautiful, smooth, and comparable in speed to driving. I caught up on some work, chatted with fellow passengers, and grabbed a snack from the café.
2. Passenger rail is a bipartisan issue
The Tuesday session began with updates from each member state’s DOT and statehouse delegation. I was amazed by the diversity of backgrounds and interests across the states. Most exciting to me was seeing the progress for passenger rail in states that resemble Ohio politically, like Missouri.
In Missouri, ridership is growing on the state-supported “Missouri River Runner.” Bipartisan support in the statehouse has been critical to that growth, including a record $16 million in this year’s legislative appropriations. That enthusiasm was driven in part by an extensive economic impact study. We are reviewing that study at AAO so we can apply the same approach in Ohio.
I also met many representatives and senators from other states on both sides of the aisle, several of whom offered to give testimony on the importance of MIPRC to their states. One Senator put it directly: “Joining MIPRC is one of the best things my state has done.” This session was extremely encouraging.
3. Amtrak and FRA have passionate employees who want passenger rail to succeed
I met with employees at Amtrak and the FRA serving in non-appointed leadership positions across the Midwest, including people working in network planning, corridor development (including 3C+D and Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit), and fleet planning. All of them are deeply committed to the success of passenger rail in the Midwest and ready to keep the momentum going.
AAO will keep working closely with our partners in these organizations, including introducing them to contacts in state and local government, connecting them with riders and community members for input, and providing a rider-centric opinion in the development process.
4. Ohio’s routes are in good hands
I spoke with many of the partners at the engineering firms that will work with ORDC to develop our Corridor ID studies in Ohio. These men and women have decades of experience and are genuinely passionate about their craft. They also constantly work to improve their approaches so projects meet their goals as efficiently as possible.
Many of the people who will be working in Ohio have experience on other state-supported projects, both in the Midwest and across the country, along with national and international rail development experience. We are in good hands.
Moving forward, AAO will keep developing relationships with the consulting organizations involved on our projects. These folks will be a great resource for us.
5. MIPRC membership is a critical next step for Ohio
The connections I made on behalf of Ohio will still be valuable, but it would be a real benefit for representatives from our DOT and legislature to speak with their counterparts in neighboring states. I saw long-standing friendships between local leaders from Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, and Indiana, and I am pleased to report they want Ohio to join in.
The current statuses, lessons learned, and updates from the FRA and Amtrak are well worth the cost of admission. State leaders asked their counterparts what went right and what went wrong in their projects. Connections were made that will be used year-round to improve rail development across the Midwest.
The annual cost to be a MIPRC member is $25,000, or 0.00083% of the cost of the $3 billion Brent Spence Bridge project in Cincinnati, and it can be included in the 2025 Ohio Transportation Budget. We will be advocating strongly for that inclusion, including by sharing what I learned with leaders in the statehouse and at ORDC.
Attending the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission’s annual meeting was an incredible opportunity to represent Ohio and gain valuable insights. The lessons learned and connections made will help advance Ohio’s rail projects and strengthen our case for rejoining the Commission in 2025.