Kasich Kills 3C Train

« Transit or On-Street Parking: What’s Better for Business?

Kasich Kills 3C Train

November 10, 2010 by John

I’m going to try to keep this brief since it’s mostly old news now anyway.

Governor-elect Kasich is making good on his campaign promises by rejecting federal stimulus funds for startup passenger rail service between Ohio’s four largest cities.

Kasich wants passenger-train spending stopped; Strickland refuses
Governor-elect says $400 million should go for roads or freight rail in Ohio
Monday, November 8, 2010 03:51 PM
By Mark Niquette
The Columbus Dispatch

Gov.-elect John Kasich today formally asked outgoing Gov. Ted Strickland to halt any further spending for a proposed high-speed passenger rail system, saying no more funding should go toward a project that Kasich doesn’t want.

Kasich sent a letter to Strickland asking him to cancel all contracts for the project and also wrote to President Barack Obama asking him to instead reallocate the $400 million that Ohio received for the rail project for freight rail or roads in the state.

“In the event that you cannot accede to my request, I ask that you take no actions to spend the funds allocated to Ohio so that these funds can go toward reducing the federal government’s $1.4 trillion deficit,” Kasich wrote to Obama.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, has already sent a letter to Kasich, telling him that the funding cannot be used for anything other than rail.

Feds to Kasich: No rail, no stimulus funds
President Barack Obama’s administration made it official today: If Ohio Gov-elect John Kasich doesn’t want to use $400 million in federal stimulus money allocated for a high-speed passenger rail system, it can’t be used for anything else and the state will lose the money.

Responding to a letter that Kasich sent yesterday to Obama, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood sent Kasich a letter today making that position clear.

Meanwhile, New York Governor Cuomo has graciously volunteered to take the money that Ohio and Wisconsin don’t want and use it for one of the many major rail projects in his state.

We’ll take that 1.26 billion in transit funds: Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo
BY Richard Sisk
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, November 6th 2010, 4:00 AM

WASHINGTON – Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo made a pitch Friday to snatch $1.26 billion in high-speed rail money from incoming Republican governors who don’t want it.

In a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Cuomo said New York would be happy to grab the federal funding that Govs.-elect John Kasich (R-Ohio) and Scott Walker (R-Wis.) campaigned against.

I’ve personally been very excited about the prospect of restoring train service to Columbus and am disappointed that it will have to wait for another time.

I don’t quite understand the opposition from Kasich to the 3C. The project is projected to have a benefit to cost ratio of 3:1 according to ODOT. You’ll be hard-pressed to find many other transportation investments with that return. Furthermore, it’s a great time to invest in infrastructure due to low interest rates.

I guess either Kasich doesn’t trust ODOT’s numbers or doesn’t think that’s a good enough return on investment.

I could probably write about this all night, but I’m not going to waste my time. Sorry to lose you 3C.

Rate this:

Like this:

Be the first to like this post.

Posted in Rail X-ing | 9 Comments

9 Responses

on November 10, 2010 at 12:32 pm | Reply george

“I don’t quite understand the opposition from Kasich to the 3C.”

You will not because Kasich is bone headed. Despite being told multiple times that the stimulus is ONLY for railways, he kept preaching that we should use this money for roads and bridges. Now, NY will have that money and the jobs that were free gift to Ohio. Not to mention, the long term economical/environmental advantage of having railways.
on November 10, 2010 at 1:47 pm | Reply John

Sharp Rise In Oil Prices Could Hinder Recovery
by Jeff Brady

Crude oil futures took a sharp jump last week and are approaching $90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Back in January 2009, oil was selling for less than $32 per barrel.

READ MORE

I hope you all enjoy sitting in Thanksgiving traffic on I-71 without any reasonable options, because you’re going to be doing it for many years and probably paying more for it as time goes on.
on November 10, 2010 at 6:39 pm | Reply Tweets that mention Kasich Kills 3C Train « Xing Columbus -- Topsy.com

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by John Clem and derdrache, Matthew Carbone. Matthew Carbone said: Sad day for Ohio Transit RT @derdrache: Kasich isn't even in office yet and he's already f'ing up Ohio. http://bit.ly/cXSMmc [...]
on November 10, 2010 at 8:48 pm | Reply Bruce Rawson

Ohio elects a Fox News mouthpiece for governor! What was Sarah Palin unavailable?
on November 11, 2010 at 10:48 pm | Reply John

November 09, 2010
New Yorkers’ high-speed rail Facebook campaign hits all the right notes

The people of New York, like those in many other states, recognize the value high-speed rail offers.

They know that saying “No” to high speed rail is saying “No” to jobs, “No” to revitalized manufacturing, and “No” to economic development.

And what’s worse, it means saying “No” to American workers at a time when they sorely need those jobs.

…Well, an American high-speed rail network will be an engine of job creation. We worked hard to secure commitments from over 30 foreign rail manufacturers to expand or move their base of operations to the United States. That’s because we want them to reopen shuttered manufacturing plants and put skilled workers back on the job.

These companies know high-speed rail, and they are ready to partner with the states or regions awarded rail grants. Even better? They are ready to hire tens of thousands of American workers to get the job done.

READ MORE
on November 15, 2010 at 2:23 pm | Reply Where do Businesses Stand on 3C Train? « Xing Columbus

[...] be interested to hear if there are any major corporations asking the Governor-Elect to re-think this. Business leaders in Milwaukee, Madison differ on train By Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel Nov. [...]
on December 17, 2010 at 2:57 pm | Reply tgreen

SO SAD THAT WE ARE BEING PUNISH FOR NO REASON…THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A RELIABLE RESOURCE FOR US AND HE MESSED IT UP…POOR OHIO WHEN WILL PEOPLE GET IT THROUGH THERE HEAD. THAT WE WANT TO BE A STATE THAT ATRACTS PEOPLE NOT SCARE THEM AWAY.WE CANT EVEN PREPARE OUR SELFS FOR THE FUTURE,AND BECOME A BIG AND FUN CITY..BYE THE WAY THIS CITY ISNT BIG AT ALL..
on March 3, 2011 at 11:25 am | Reply John Kasich Defines “Shoving” Legislation Through | Libel's Affairs of the State

[...] the budget bill currently in the White House slashes 700,000 jobs. Kasich, like Scott Walker, also killed a plan that would bring jobs to Ohio and offer residents that commute to large cities a cost effective alternative to the ever rising [...]
on July 14, 2011 at 10:27 am | Reply brucw

There’s a well reasoned article, or post mortem, in The Economist from July 3 ’11 “High speed rail- How fast is fast enough?” regarding the future of passenger rail in the US.