Quote:
Originally Posted by Private Dick
My main thing is that the chances of actually getting that done in the forseeable future seem slim
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As far as getting something actually done is concerned, two things will need to align:
(1) There will need to be sufficient federal dollars allocated to passenger rail upgrades such that these projects can potentially get funding; and
(2) The relevant state governments must be willing to apply for and then accept that federal funding, which will likely include significant state expenditures on an ongoing basis.
Right now neither of these conditions are met for either project. The first condition is common to both, so is more or less a wash. It is really the second condition that gets interesting.
One obvious point is that the eastern route only requires one state government to be on board (PA), while the western route requires two (PA and OH), so one could argue that the former is necessarily more likely than the latter.
However, prior PA governments have shown a tendency to favor passenger rail upgrades in the eastern half of the state over the western half, but Pittsburgh to Cleveland was a bit of an exception, in part just because Ohio would likely be picking up a majority of the state funding component, and generally at least the first stages of the project would be relatively inexpensive.
So it is possible that a combination of an Ohio government and a PA government willing to support the western route is as likely, or even more likely, to reemerge than a PA government willing to support the eastern route on its own.
But that's all speculative. My main point is just that from a Pittsburgh perspective, we should be prepared to support either or both of these projects, because it is hard to tell at this point which is most likely to start advancing first.