Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc
there is no call for a direct cinci to cols train.
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The high speed rail route plan from the early 80s was the same as the current plan, Cin>Day>Columbus, not Cin>Columbus.
The big difference wasn't just the higher speed between the metros, it was the big-time grade separation in the cities. They were planning a continuous viaduct, roughly 10 miles in length, above the freight railroad mainline from Cincinnati's Ivorydale Junction to a railroad yard in suburban Sharonville, OH, where an unused passenger bypass would be reactivated. The bypass still exists:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2839.../data=!3m1!1e3
This planned viaduct elevated the high speed line over all local vehicular roads and all railroad spurs, but it also allowed two-way traffic in that corridor because....
...the whole problem with using the existing double-track railroad for this purpose is that there are actually two parallel double-track railroads in the Mill Creek Valley and the freight railroads operate them like a four-track railroad. This means that each double-track railroad is almost always one-way. Northbound-only for one double-track railroad and Southbound-only for the other.
To my knowledge, they are not planning to run Amtrak north/south split between these different parallel railroads.
This morning I sat in a meeting with a window looking out at this railroad. Multiple mile-long freight trains passed within an hour, all headed northbound. How do you slot a southbound train into this mess?
Here are the parallel railroads:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1914.../data=!3m1!1e3
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