Agencies Push for Expanded Amtrak Service

Three Northeast Ohio agencies are pushing for an expansion of Amtrak service in Cleveland, WOIO-TV recently reported.

The agencies are the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress. They characterized their campaign as an effort to seek expansion of Amtrak into a central passenger rail line.

“Improving service along existing east-west corridors is the most cost-effective way to get started, to demonstrate passenger rail’s potential for creating economic growth, attracting new business, tourism and new talent to Ohio,” said Grace Gallucci, NOACA’s executive director and CEO.

The agencies said their goal is to improve service to Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington. Currently, most of those cities are served by Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited, which operated between Chicago and New York/Boston, and the Capitol Limited, which operates between Chicago and Washington.

There is no direct Amtrak service from Cleveland to Detroit or Philadelphia. The NEO agencies noted that existing Amtrak service to Cleveland operates in the middle of the night.

Some of what the agencies have proposed reflects proposals Amtrak made in its Amtrak ConnectsUS plan.

The effort by the Northeast Ohio agencies includes seeking to establish daytime service from Cleveland.

Tags: Amtrak, Amtrak in Cleveland, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency