COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio is one step closer to bringing passenger rails back to the state.
On Wednesday, the Columbus Foundation granted the nonprofit organization All Aboard Ohio close to $17,000 to conduct a detailed economic impact study in the Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati rail corridor, also known as the 3C&D Corridor.
“I don't want to be cliché about it but it's literally music to my ears,” said Stu Nicholson, the executive director for AAO.
Nicholson said the study will give a better description of how it would all work.
"It's really critical to economic development to workforce development to dealing with climate change all of that,” said Nicholson.
What he’s excited about most is the impact could have on businesses and jobs. He said this is still a lengthy process. If all goes well, he said the next phase would involve engineering and environmental work followed by the actual construction.
“If we can get a lot of people to ride a lot of trains in the middle of the night in Ohio, imagine what it would be like if we can have daytime service.”
Nicholson said Columbus hasn't seen passenger rail since 1979. His hope is that other Ohioans can grow up hearing the same roar he loves.
"That's why we're telling both the Senate and the House, look you can't shortchange this. This is a critical moment. This is the best chance we've had in decades,” said Nicholson.
Nicholson it could take at least four to five years before trains could be seen in Ohio.