‘I would love to see it;’ People excited for potential Amtrak expansion in Ohio

DAYTON — You could soon have a fast new option to get to cities like Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, as a potential Amtrak expansion.

As News Center 7 previously reported, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has chosen four Ohio routes as its priorities for expansion.

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Among the corridors that are getting funding is the Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati route.

News Center 7′s Malik Patterson spoke to people who are excited for the new opportunities.

“I want a job with them so I can ride up and down the railway,” Leslie McCreary said.

She went on to talk about how the new options would be great for day trips.

A federal infrastructure bill would provide more than $500 million for each city to start planning.

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown touted the plan during a news conference Wednesday.

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“I want to clear once these routes are up and running rider fairs will help sustain the cost. This isn’t a giveaway, this is a transportation cost that we invested in and people in Ohio want to use,” Brown said.

McCeary told News Center 7 that she’s looked forward to a project like this since 1998.

“I’m a railway kind of girl, so I would love to see it and I think the railways will be important to us in the coming years,” she said.

There are two additional meetings in the coming months to lay out a potential timeline.

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