Gov. Strickland, Shut Boehner Up and get the Ohio Hub on a Fast Track

From Burning the Midnight Oil for a Brawny Recovery ...

Among the many absurd things said by Boehner in opposing the Stimulus Bill, the most deliberate malicious lie was:
"Tell me how spending $8 billion," asked House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) on the floor, "in this bill to have a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is going to help the construction worker in my district."

The $8b in funding is for Federally Designated HSR corridors ... and referring to the Federal DoT map reveals that no Nevada to California corridor has gained that status ...

... but two Ohio Hub corridors have, the Cleveland to Fort Wayne, which continues on to Chicago in the Midwest Hub project, and the Triple-C, Cleveland / Columbus / Dayton / Cincinnati.

Yes, Dayton/Cincinnati. It goes through Boehner's own district, with two stations serving his district, one in Dayton and one in Middletown.

Really, truly, Boehner is kicking against funding where OHIO has an inside track, by simply spreading lies about it. If Harry Reid wants funding for Las Vegas to southern California, first the corridor has to get designated ... and there are three competing alignments with three competing technologies, so that is by no means an automatic process ... and only then can they apply for funding.

If we get our act together, we can already have our application(s) in and be receiving money before that process can finish.

So, Governor Strickland, lets get our act together.

What we need to have the Ohio Rail Development Corporation do is put together a four phase program:

• Apply for funds to Fast Track the environmental and economic impact analyses for Stage 1 of the Ohio Hub
• Collect a group of high priority road crossing upgrades that will be required for 110mph Passenger Rail service, on the Stage 1 corridors, and will also provide an immediate public safety benefit, and apply for Stimulus Bill funding for that package
• Collect a second group of works that can proceed in advance of finalization of completion of environmental and economic impact analysis, and put it in a third application for Stimulus Bill funding
• Start the process of gaining bonding authority for the launch of Stage 1 (which will be less expensive, because of the preliminary works funded as Stimulus spending), out of regular HSR funding in upcoming Federal Department of Transportation budgets.

OK, now, how much money are we talking about? For the triple-C corridor, the ORDC 2004 planning study (6.6MB pdf) arrived at an infrastructure cost of $1.1b in 2002$. Total right of way acquisition, maintenance base and the rail vehicle fleet was 20% of total Ohio Hub infrastructure cost, so putting a range of 20% to 40% for the start-up section, that is around $1.3b to $1.6b, in 2002$, so under $2b in current dollars.

And the more works we get funded under the Stimulus Bill, the smaller the total state match we will have to put up ... at a 20% state match, that is $400m in bonding authority to get the system launched.

Finally, on the question of "isn't 110mph a luxury" ... it turns out that the "cheaper" an Amtrak speed 79mph system is the luxury. While many segments of a 79mph are projected to have operating cost recovery in the range of 70% to 90% ... the 110mph system saves on "per hour" operating costs per route mile, and offers more attractive schedules, and the ORDC analysis projects operating cost recovery over 120%.

In other words, once we get the system up and running, it will yield an operating surplus that can be used to fund the expansion of the system.

The Stimulus Bill provides a golden opportunity to Fast Track the start while at the same time cutting down the total capital cost that has to be carried by our state. And to provide construction work all along the Triple-C corridor ... including in John Boehner's own district.