2023-03-28 07:00:00
Officials in Kentucky and Indiana are moving forward with seeking federal funds that could one day help connect Louisville, Indianapolis and Chicago via Amtrak rail service.
The Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agencyin conjunction with Metro Government, submitted an application for a $500,000 planning grant Monday with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration to attempt to bring back rail service between Louisville and Indianapolis, said Greg Burress, community outreach specialist for KIPDA.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is submitting a similar plan regarding service between Indianapolis and Chicago, Burress said, adding KIPDA is in “full support of INDOT’s plans.”
Burress said officials hope to hear something this summer.
The “AMTRAK CONNECTS US” plan that the national passenger rail corporation unveiled in 2021 envisions $75 billion in federal investment over 15 years to add nearly 40 new routes, improve 25 existing routes and expand service to over 160 new communities.
Amtrak says the proposed expansion, which would include service from Indianapolis to Cincinnati, would feature four round trips daily between Chicago and Louisville, and it would have an estimated economic impact of $448 million annually along with $8.2 billion in economic activity from “one-time capital investments.”
Trains would stop between Indianapolis and Louisville in the Southern Indiana cities of Columbus and Jeffersonville, according to Amtrak’s plan.
For the planning grant, KIPDA also received letters of support from the offices of Gov. Andy Beshear, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, Kentucky Transportation Secretary Jim Gray, Transit Authority of River City, the town of Clarksville, Indiana, Greater Louisville Inc. and others in the Hoosier State, according to Burress.
Want to travel by train in Kentucky? Here’s where and how to ride Amtrak in the Bluegrass State
“We’ve been happy to support these efforts across the country, in this case supporting both KIPDA and INDOT to develop reliable and relevant connection to and from Chicago,” Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told The Courier Journal.
Referring to GLI, Magliari also said “the chamber of commerce in Louisville has been a key partner in bringing everyone together.”
Greenberg’s spokesman, Kevin Trager, said in a statement the mayor has spoken “directly with (Transportation) Secretary (Pete) Buttigieg about this and will be pursuing all available federal funding to make this route a reality.”
“As one of the largest cities in the country with no Amtrak service, Louisville would greatly benefit from new train service to Indianapolis and beyond,” Trager said.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Joe Biden signed in 2021 includes $66 billion for passenger and freight railwith a portion dedicated to expanding intercity service to new corridors.
In the past, Amtrak has usually covered only about 15% of the cost for rail service, with states left to pick up the remaining tab apart from the money earned from passenger fares.
Other factors that sometimes dissuade travelers from using Amtrak instead of cars or planes are the longer trip times, ticket costs, delays and safety concerns following headline-grabbing derailments.
When did Amtrak trains previously serve Louisville?
Amtrak’s Thruway motorcoach bus service allows travelers to go between Louisville, Indianapolis and Chicago. But it has been 20 years since Amtrak ran trains to Louisville.
Louisville once had Amtrak service via the Floridian linewhich covered roughly 1,600 miles between Chicago and Miami. The Floridian stopped operating in 1979.
The Kentucky Cardinalwhich took travelers between Louisville and Chicago, ended its run in 2003.
Amtrak officials said at the time the route had seen too few passengers since it started in December 1999 and that freight traffic had also ceased on the route.
Kentucky Derby hotels: High occupancy, rising rates. Where to stay in Louisville this year
Louisville’s Amtrak station still stands today at 10th Street and West Broadway, where Union Station has been home to the offices of TARC, which operates buses in Louisville and Southern Indiana.
Amtrak otherwise serves smaller communities in Kentucky through the Cardinal line, which stops in Maysville, South Portsmouth and Ashland on its way between Chicago and Washington, D.C.
The City of New Orleans route stops in Fulton in Western Kentucky while traveling from Chicago to New Orleans.
Reach Billy Kobin at [email protected]
1702890972
#Grant #sought #Louisville #Indianapolis #Amtrak #train #service