Midwest Regional Rail Initiative

[electricron]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Several city pairs in the Midwest are much shorter than 150 miles. Leaving Chicago out of the list to clarify that there are a lot of other people and places in the Midwest aside from Chicago:

Indianapolis > Louisville = 115 miles
Indianapolis > Cincinnati = 110 miles
Indianapolis > Dayton = 115 miles
Cincinnati > Louisville = 100 miles
Cincinnati > Columbus = 110 miles
Cincinnati > Dayton = 55 miles
Dayton > Columbus = 75 miles
Cleveland > Akron = 40 miles
Cincinnati > Lexington = 85 miles
Louisville > Lexington = 80 miles
Toledo > Cleveland = 115 miles



Trains never compete directly with aircraft because there is almost no such thing as a train station next to an airport. Any train station in the Midwest would be in the downtown or right next to it, not out in the suburbs, or in the case of Cincinnati, across a river and in another state. Trains are more comfortable, you can bring way more luggage, and there is no tedious boarding process. You can usually buy a ticket the day of your trip without a significantc price spike.

Moreover, the upgrading of intercity railroads in the Midwest would allow alternating express and local trains and so long-ignored small towns situated far from airports would suddenly have convenient service to regional cities.

That depends upon what you classify as a major city.
Population of the cities in your list (msa)
Cleveland 2,000,000
Toledo 600,000
Lexington 500,000
Louisville 1,200,000
Cincinnati 2,200,000
Akron 700,000
Columbus 2,000,000
Dayton 800,000
Indianapolis 2,000,000

I would suggest if there isn’t a million people for a city’s metro, it is not a “major” city.

[seabee1526]

https://www.freep.com/story/travel/m...nt/9135948002/

Amtrak Detroit to Toronto

Passenger as well as major trade implications.

[202_Cyclist]

I sure hope the Nigerian prince offered a good deal for these trains.

Trains intended for unbuilt Milwaukee-Madison high-speed rail line going to Nigeria
Governor of Nigeria's Lagos State visits Milwaukee to complete purchase from train manufacturer Talgo

By Christine Hatfield
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Wisconsin Public Radio

"Two trains originally intended for a high-speed rail line to connect Madison and Milwaukee are headed for Nigeria. The governor of that country's Lagos State was in Milwaukee on Tuesday to purchase the unused trains.

The trains are set to become part of West Africa's first operational metro system, according to a press release.

At a public event at the Milwaukee facilities of Spanish train manufacturer Talgo, acting Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson welcomed Lagos State Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu..."

https://www.wpr.org/trains-intended-...-going-nigeria

[Busy Bee]

A picture paints a thousand words.

The photos of this should give the stacked PE red cars at the scrap yard a run for its money. What a country.

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

A picture paints a thousand words.

The photos of this should give the stacked PE red cars at the scrap yard a run for its money. What a country.

Absolutely. Ohio and Wisconsin could have benefited from passenger rail and created many good jobs if their idiot Republican governors hadn't been hostile to public transportation and preferred that their residents sit at home unemployed rather than investing in modern infrastructure.

[Busy Bee]

10 years ago my resigned thought was we were going to just need to wait out the backward conservative government and the silly generation that guarantees their ascendancy, but this Trump cult neo-fascist movement has taken over I'm afraid and a new generation of inane nativism and rejectionist idiocracy will just take their place.