Imagine a system of high-speed railroads similar to the nation's interstate highways. That's the goal of the federal government, and on Thursday, both the president and vice president appeared in Florida to announce a historic $8 billion in grants for high-speed rails.
"It will change the way we go from place to place. Change the way we work and live and will connect communities in a way which was impossible before," said Vice President Joe Biden.
Thirty-one states received federal awards, with Ohio getting about $400 million. Officials will now focus on creating the 3C rail system, linking Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton and Cleveland.
"We can use this train as a foundation for expansion and improvement of Ohio's rail service," said Gov. Ted Strickland.
While the Mahoning Valley isn't mentioned in the initial portion of development, some believe the second phase could include a rail line that goes through Youngstown, especially with major rail lines surrounding the city on all four sides.
"As you start to fill out the map and connect the dots, the logical conclusion is to link Cleveland and Pittsburgh via Youngstown," said Ken Prendergast, from All Aboard Ohio.
To have that happen, there are a few key sticking points that must be ironed out. A major one includes rebuilding one mile of track in Ravenna, and despite receiving funding, the project is far from a done deal.
"They've got to negotiate with the track-owning freight railroads. They need to negotiate with an operator, which could be Amtrak or some other operator. They've got to negotiate with municipalities and transit agencies and possible property owners, so there's still a lot of work to be done," said Prendergast.
The 3C rail lines do expect to have passengers on trains by 2012.
