Tuesday, February 29, 2000
Amtrak expansion should help Ohioans
More route options offered to some
BY JOHN SEEWER
The Associated Press
TOLEDO — In its plan to expand routes, Amtrak is gambling that there are more passengers out there like Beryl Rosenberg, who was sitting in Toledo's train station with her three young children Monday.
Her train was 15 minutes late and her kids were getting antsy, but she was happy to have a train to take.
“Six hours on a train is a lot easier than six hours driving,” she said.
Ms. Rosenberg, on the return portion of a round trip from her home in Pittsburgh to Detroit, was glad to hear that Amtrak is expanding routes throughout the country. In Ohio, that means reviving a route between Toledo and Detroit, along with adding more stops in Toledo and Cleveland.
Amtrak currently puts passengers on a bus for the Detroit to Toledo segment — a less comfortable ride than the train, Ms. Rosenberg and her children said.
Still, it's better than flying, she said.
“The airplanes don't give you half off for kids,” she said. “So with kids, it's definitely a better option.”
Rail service between Detroit and Toledo was eliminated in 1995. It could return as early as May.
The railroad said Monday that it will expand or improve service in 21 states, add 11 route segments and increase train frequency on three routes.
For Cleveland travelers, it will mean boarding trains to New York or Chicago at reasonable times rather than waiting on the platforms in predawn hours.
The new Manhattan Limited's seven-day-a-week schedule calls for it to arrive in Cleveland from New York shortly after noon and arrive in Chicago at 6:37 p.m. In the other direction, the train arrives in Cleveland at 7:14 p.m., allowing passengers to sleep while traveling eastward, arriving in New York at 9:21 the next morning.
The Manhattan Limited also will make afternoon stops in Toledo — a city that grew with rail travel.
The city was home to the first railroad west of Pennsylvania — the Erie and Kalamazoo — that began running between Toledo and Adrian, Mich., in 1836. By the early 1900s, Toledo was the third busiest rail center in the nation.
Now just six trains a day come through, and for some that can lead to a tiring trip.
Consider LaToya Hazelwood's travel plans for Monday.
She left Detroit at 9 a.m., but didn't expect to get home in Virginia until at least 1 a.m. Tuesday. She had to take a bus to Toledo, a train to Pittsburgh, and a bus to Washington, D.C., where a friend would drive her home to Richmond, Va.
“Flying is probably the best way because it's the quickest,” she said. “But I'm scared of planes.”
Amtrak projects that the changes, when fully implemented, will generate $229 million in new annual revenue and cause a net gain of $65 million in 2003.
The railroad operates a 22,000-mile system that serves more than 500 communities in 45 states.
The changes do not require approval by Congress. But in order to implement them, Amtrak will have to strike deals with various freight railroads whose tracks it uses.
Bush here; Catholics listening
Madeira teacher quits over racial harassment
We're not just looking for dirt on stadium tour
Architect to present plan Wednesday
Heart tests become easier
Let's look at Leap Year by the numbers
Mason to show project design
Regional industries complain to senators about EPA rules
Woman pleads in baby's death
At odds over welfare spending
Ex-deputy pleads not guilty in Silverton killing
Justices to look at will mull tobacco windfall
Luken asks outside audit of road fund
Pumpkins back in guitar and drum attack mode in 'Machina'
Save green space, group urges
Amtrak expansion should help Ohioans
32 arrested after police raid dogfight
Exciting wunderkind conductor sparks CCO
Former teacher, coach pleads guilty
Friend named to fill empty council seat
Group pressures 2nd adult club
Council member is urged to resign
Man may be spared jail term
Missing 3 days, man with Alzheimer's found dead on Mount Auburn property
Motorist killed, passenger hurt in Brown Co.
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
Taft likes Clinton stand on Internet taxes
Two girls in hospital after being hit by car
GET TO IT
TRISTATE DIGEST
