Ohio's passenger rail plan is on slow track

COLUMBUS - Ten weeks after lawmakers approved a $25 million study of passenger rail service linking Ohio's largest cities, the state has yet to ink a contract with the firm picked to do the study, raising new questions about the 2011 goal for getting the trains running.

At the same time, new federal regulations have complicated negotiations between states and freight railroads, whose tracks the passenger trains would use.

The issue is especially acute in Ohio, where three companies own track along the planned route linking Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati.

State officials remain confident they can reach agreements with Norfolk Southern, CSX, and RailAmerica to begin running passenger trains with top speeds of 79 mph across the so-called 3C corridor by the end of 2011.

"We are still on track," said Scott Varner, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation.

He acknowledged the state hasn't finalized its contract with Parsons Brinckerhoff, a consultant that will be paid $25 million to study environmental and engineering issues.

The state Controlling Board - a bipartisan panel of lawmakers who vote on major spending requests - approved the contract April 19 in a 4-3 vote, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed.

Gov. Ted Strickland's administration, which has championed the rail service, rebuffed Republican requests to delay the vote, saying the state needed to act quickly to lock in its share of federal rail funding.

Ohio was awarded $400 million in January.

Now, however, the clock is moving more slowly.

"There is not a contract," Mr. Varner said. The state has yet to see a penny.

"We are still working with the state on a grant agreement," Robert Kulat, a spokesman for the Federal Rail Administration, said in an e-mail message yesterday. This is required for all funding.

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Columbus Dispatch