If infrastructure bill passes, Amtrak plans major expansion by 2035

Columbus is the capital of Ohio, with a population of nearly 900,000, located at the center of a 15-county region that, according to William Murdock, executive director of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), is the fastest-growing area in the Midwest. He also stated that Columbus is "the largest city in America not on the Amtrak national rail network." Columbus is one of many cities and rural areas hoping to benefit from the proposed federal investment in passenger rail, which, if approved, would be the largest federal investment in passenger rail in Amtrak's 50-year history.

Earlier this year, amid the optimism of the first months of the Biden administration, Amtrak CEO William Flynn unveiled a hopeful national route map, planning new or more frequent passenger train service for many parts of the country. Currently, Amtrak's expansion fate lies in the hands of Congress. If House Democrats agree to pass the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, the national passenger rail company could receive more than $100 billion over the next five years. The bill guarantees $66 billion for freight and passenger rail, with an additional $36 billion subject to future congressional appropriations.

Transportation planners in the Midwest, Southeast, and West are focusing on the bill's "Corridor Identification and Development Program," designed to help states establish new intercity trains, expand existing routes, or restore former service. Examples of existing routes that could be expanded include Chicago-Milwaukee, Washington, D.C.-Roanoke (Virginia), and Vancouver (British Columbia)-Seattle-Portland (Oregon). Potential new service could include Atlanta-Charlotte (North Carolina), Cleveland-Detroit, and Atlanta-Nashville.

"This creates a better framework for states and Amtrak to work together to expand service," said Mark Weitenbeck, treasurer of the Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers. Under the new bill, the U.S. Department of Transportation could support a project over multiple years through phased funding agreements until a state or consortium of states takes over.

If the program is fully implemented by 2035, Amtrak expects to add 30 or more routes and enhance service on at least 20 existing routes. Up to 160 communities would see new Amtrak service, and 15 states would gain multiple daily trains.

When Amtrak took over most U.S. intercity passenger train service in 1971, it covered 43 states with 184 daily trains. Although it now operates 300 trains daily in 46 states, parts of Canada, and the District of Columbia, its route map has changed little compared to 1971. This ignores the rapid population growth in Sun Belt cities such as Atlanta, Phoenix, and Austin, Texas, as well as job shifts in many regions. In 2019, Amtrak carried 32 million passengers; the proposed intercity corridor expansion is expected to add 20 million more passengers.

Robert Poole, transportation policy director at the free-market think tank Reason Foundation, disagrees with this forecast. He said, "My biggest problem with this plan is that it assumes there is a large amount of unrealized demand for train travel. I don't think we have evidence to support that, and the cost of trying to stimulate that demand is very high."

Positioning rail as a driver of equitable development

In Ohio, Amtrak plans to launch a new Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland route, connecting to the national rail network at both ends. MORPC is also advocating for a new east-west route connecting Columbus with Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Columbus needs a new train station, and Murdock said developers are eyeing a site downtown near the convention center and hotels. Murdock called it a "prosperous area," but acknowledged housing scarcity in the Short North and Arena District near the planned station. He said, "We don't have enough housing to support population growth at all income levels, so this is a major concern for us."

Alon Levy, a researcher at New York University's Marron Institute of Urban Management focused on public transit, believes downtown office jobs "can fill residential development near the station," but he noted that in Columbus, Cleveland, and other Midwestern cities, single-family homes begin just a few blocks from downtown, limiting commercial development opportunities.

Amtrak CEO Flynn said in a statement that the proposed federal investment would create jobs and improve equity nationwide. A study commissioned by Amtrak supports this claim, concluding that the corridor program would generate $195 billion in additional economic activity through capital investment between 2021 and 2035 and support more than 26,000 permanent jobs.

According to Amtrak's 2021 Corridor Vision plan, "geographic expansion into areas with large Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities" would also help reduce racial and economic inequality. In Ohio, Murdock said the planning commission is studying new train stations in underserved areas, reinforced by bus rapid transit and transit-oriented housing.

Connecting urban and rural populations

Murdock added that rural communities in Ohio are often the most excited about gaining train service. He said, "They see the economic possibilities that a station brings, making their towns more attractive."

Jim Mathews, president of the Rail Passengers Association (RPA), a rail advocacy organization that predates Amtrak, cited Meridian, Mississippi, a city of 36,000, as an example of rail's economic value to smaller communities. In 1997, the city built the Union Station multimodal center on the site of a historic, largely demolished 1906 train station. According to Amtrak, the nearly $7 million initial construction cost helped generate $135 million in public and private investment in the warehouse district.

Jarrod Pearson, president of the Tennessee Rail Passenger Association advocacy group, lives in Cowan, Tennessee, a community of just over 1,600 people. Although a freight rail line runs through his hometown, the nearest Amtrak station is in Atlanta, a three-hour drive away. Amtrak's expansion plan could change that, adding train service along existing rail lines from Atlanta to Chattanooga and Nashville, Tennessee. He hopes Cowan could become a stop on the route. He said, "I would go to Chattanooga more often. If I could avoid traffic congestion, I would not hesitate to spend more time in the area, and that's one of the appeals of passenger rail."

Pearson added that train service would help the region's economy and improve access to healthcare and jobs. "It makes rural areas more livable."

Obstacles for rail

Although urban planners and passenger rail advocates are calling for increased and improved train service, obstacles remain even if the infrastructure bill passes.

Amtrak owns only 623 miles of its 21,400-mile service network. It operates, maintains, and dispatches another 229 miles, but most of the rest is owned by other railroads or government agencies. Freight railroads are notorious for causing severe delays to passenger trains. In 2020, only one of Amtrak's 15 long-distance routes had an on-time rate above 80%, and six had rates below 60%. The Sunset Limited, running between Los Angeles and New Orleans, had an on-time rate of only one-third in 2020.

Freight railroads may resist adding more passenger trains or require Amtrak to make costly upgrades to freight lines. In Maine, a siding on tracks owned by Pan Am Railways needs to be extended six miles to allow Amtrak to add a sixth daily round trip between Brunswick and Boston, and construction is currently underway. On Amtrak's Chicago-Milwaukee line, Canadian Pacific Railway said it would not agree to increased train service after opponents in Glenview, Illinois, objected to building two sidings the company requested.

Poole noted, "There are policy implications that haven't been discussed in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint." He explained that U.S. freight railroads have been optimized for efficiency. "If we deliberately add more passenger trains on those freight lines through policy, it will reduce the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of rail transportation relative to trucks."

Amtrak spokesperson Beth Toll said in an email that Amtrak has worked closely with host railroads and has had "discussions over many years" regarding many of the proposed new routes. RPA's Mathews is optimistic that these issues can be resolved as Amtrak advances its expansion plans.

MORPC's Murdock noted that in Ohio, "the investment needed to provide passenger rail service on these lines through Columbus also means we will improve freight bottlenecks and freight speeds."

At least anecdotally, there is interest in more train service. According to Murdock, "Whether it's major conventions, businesses, or young people moving to Columbus, one of the questions they often ask is 'Where is the train station?'"

Amtrak's Toll said, "America has a terrible history of prioritizing highways and cars over other modes of transportation, destroying communities in the process." "As a result, millions of people, including large numbers of people of color, lack access to reliable, fast, and sustainable transportation options," she added, saying Amtrak wants to "address this inequity."