Can Hamilton make two stops on Amtrak? Leaders seek support from lawmakers

HAMILTON, Ohio — Hamilton community and business leaders plan to address lawmakers in Columbus late next month arguing for the need for one, if not two, Amtrak passenger rail stops.

Last year, the Federal Railroad Administration selected the Ohio routes as it relates to a possible Amtrak expansion in the Buckeye State, including a $500,000 investment to study each route.

Corridor 3C+D, which will connect Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland, shows a possible stop in Hamilton. That stop could either be at the former Beckett Paper site, which is located just off Heaton Avenue, or near the relocated former CSX train depot on Maple Avenue.

Another possible stop is the east-west Cardinal Line, connecting Chicago, Indianapolis and New York City. Oxford has already been allowed to make a stop at the Cardinal, and Hamilton is considering another stop. The Cardinal stop in Hamilton may be near Simms Park at Sycamore and South Third streets.

Hamilton City Councilman Michael Ryan has been a liaison with the city, championing Amtrak stops in Hamilton, even calling the effort “Hamtrak.” The feasibility study will be carried out by AECOM, a firm that is “well versed in passenger rail engineering research”. The feasibility study will begin next month and conclude in February, with a possible presentation of the results shortly thereafter.

The study will highlight station locations, cost estimates, ridership estimates and impacts on the Hamilton community.

“This is a very important part as we continue to work on this very important endeavor,” Ryan said. “This will show us what we need to see. Some of the numbers may be very high in some areas or very low, but either way we need to see that data so the council can make some smart decisions that will come out here very soon.”

Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dan Bates, who is co-organizing the Columbus trip with Ryan, said the Amtrak stop in Hamilton “has tremendous potential for the future of the city.”

“I’ve heard some legislators say Amtrak isn’t self-sufficient, but bridges and roads aren’t self-sufficient either, and we need them too. Without them, where would our trade be? – said Bates. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Amtrak is definitely going to expand and add new lines in Ohio, and why don’t we try to do everything we can to become a stop?”

Amtrak’s planned stop in Oxford will be at the $28.5 million Chestnut Street Intermodal Station under construction. The intermodal station is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2025, with services for Butler County RTA and regional buses, bike storage and intermodal transfer areas among others. Sometime in 2026, the platform could see the launch of Amtrak’s Cardinal line.

Since Hamilton has had no passenger rail service for many years, Bates believes people don’t understand what a benefit one or two Amtrak passenger rail stops could have for the city, as well as the region.

“If we got both lines, it would connect Hamilton to Cleveland and Hamilton to Chicago, and I think it would open up amazing opportunities for both trade and tourism,” he said. “If you look at Spooky Nook, kids and parents traveling with sports equipment, it’s much easier for them to carry it all on the train than if they were flying, and they don’t have to drive and worry about all that stuff.”

It could also create a downtown loop connecting to an Amtrak station or stations taking people to the Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill, hotels, shops and restaurants downtown.

“It’s very long-term thinking, but I think we have to look to the future and look not only at how people will move here from other regions, but also at how people will move around within our own community.”

Ohio Rep. Sarah Carruthers, who is leaving office at the end of the year, is hosting a meeting in Columbus on Nov. 20, the first day lawmakers return to work after the general election. She’s invited to the meeting by legislators from across the region, not just those representing Butler County, because Amtrak in Hamilton “is a good business” and “it’s important to talk about it now.”

“It needs to be talked about there (in Columbus), but it hasn’t really happened,” Carruthers said, adding that next month’s discussion could show her fellow lawmakers the value of it, “because if they understand it, and if they see business value in it, then they are more likely to follow through at the next General Assembly.”

Ryan said Carruthers, who represents Hamilton and Oxford as well as other communities in Columbus, “is going to fight for us.”

“It’s going to be a really fun day, a big day,” he said. “Our stakeholders, our business owners, are excited about this (meeting) because it can really show the House that we really are sincere and we really want this to happen. It’s really going to impact the future of Hamilton and we definitely want those people to come there (to Columbus) and have their voices heard.”

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