Ray LaHood, who served as the United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013, stopped by Columbus this week to meet with local leaders about the one form of transportation that continues to elude central Ohio: trains.
Columbus is currently under consideration for two future passenger rail projects: the Cincinnati-Dayton-Columbus-Cleveland line, also known as the 3C&D line, and the Chicago-Fort Wayne-Columbus-Pittsburgh line, also known as Midwest Connect. Rail planners are considering the Greater Columbus Convention Center as a potential rail station for the new lines.
For LaHood, whose department allocated billions to rail projects during his tenure, these projects represent the future of transportation.
“I mean, the truth is, we’re not going to build any more interstates in our country. It took us 50 years. We have a great interstate system. The next generation of transportation is rail.”
LaHood met with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the local business community to help move Columbus’ rail projects forward. Afterward, he gave the assembled media the first hint at how fast Columbus’ trains might go: 110 mph.
New central Ohio train lines would bolster the region’s workforce, creating jobs along the rail route much like how businesses spring up around interstates, LaHood said.
“Those are jobs. They’re good-paying jobs. They’re jobs that people want. That’s what a rail system in central Ohio will bring,” he said.
Both Midwest Connect and 3C&D are about to enter the second phase of planning, where MORPC’s Central Ohio Passenger Rail Committee and its partners will draft a service development plan for the routes. This plan will outline the railway’s routes, its stations, and how the service will operate.
This stage of planning will take about two years, The Dispatch previously reported.
Central Ohio’s rail projects still have significant hurdles to overcome. They will have to navigate a Federal Railroad Administration slow to approve project steps and an Ohio legislature with mixed feelings on passenger rail.
Still, LaHood believes these rail projects will happen in Ohio.
“And the reason I believe it’ll happen is because of all the energy and enthusiasm that I saw from the business community and elected officials,” he said.
Here’s what you can expect from road construction in Central Ohio over the next week.
Franklin County construction projects for the week of Sept. 19, 2025
Got a question, comment or concern about commuting in Columbus? Contact Dispatch reporter Nathan Hart at NHart@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation talks passenger rail in Columbus
Reporting by Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
