The answer most transit fans want to hear is yes. The answer most budget conscious politicians give is no. After looking into research myself and reviewing historical records of other cities that have trains in their cities, I have come to the conclusion that the answer lies somewhere in between. However, with Columbus’ explosion in population over the last ten years which is only expected to continue over the next 20 years, transit solutions will be essential to keep Columbus a functioning city.
Where we are right now?
Columbus, OH is the largest metropolitan area in the US without a form of passenger rail. The current population of the city as of a 2024 estimate the Columbus Dispatch came up with is 2.2 million. We are steadily growing at a rate of 2.2% across 10 counties between each census (2010 to 2020 is the most recent totals). For comparison to the other major cities in Ohio, Cleveland stands at 2.1 million not including Akron and Toledo (with those included, it is around 3.1 million), and Cincinnati stands at 2.2 million (including the neighboring Kentucky region defined by the US Census Bureau). Of all three cities Columbus’ growth rate far outpaces the other two, and yet both Cincinnati and Cleveland have either attempted or maintain a subway system. Cincinnati’s system does not currently operate and is dismal at only 2 miles of rail with 4 stations left abandoned. Currently there are no hard plans at reviving the system. Cleveland on the other hand does have operational train based transit with the RTA. The RTA is 1 rapid transit line and 3 light rail lines with a combined total of 52 stops. Annual ridership combined across the two systems is just under 4 million with a larger portion of that being the heavy rail system (3:1).
What are the takeaways from all these statistics?
Ohio is car dependent and probably will be for a long time, but we need to start making headway on more forms of public transit in Columbus (and also Cincinnati) to prepare for the future. Current population forecasts put Columbus with a population of 3.1 million by 2050, however with a 2% annual growth rate, we are expected to outpace that estimate quickly. Could Columbus support heavy rail right now? No, but by 2050 definitely. A lot of city planning and transit building is about building for impact in the future, and I think in the last 30 years we have lost sight of that. Building transit systems is about laying the groundwork for making our children’s lives easier, not about fulfilling need immediately. This mentality is written of as sentimental or idealistic, but city planning and transit planning should include a moderate amount of idealism. The great builders of history were idealistic and sentimental. It probably would have been considered idealistic to build the National Highway system in modern politics. We can’t let fear of building prevent us from pushing toward progress. We can do so in a manner that takes into account people, environmental, and budgetary factors but we can’t let fear of perfection prevent us from doing any good at all.
What can we do right now?
Currently the COTA BRT lines are being designed with construction on track to start in 2027 and wrap up in 2029. This will introduce 4 lines of semi-dedicated bus lanes for faster movement in Columbus. It is a good start, however we should push for the lines to have fully dedicated lanes and explore the possibility of light rail in future developments. Current implementations include too many areas of mixed traffic on heavily used streets that will slow down BRT busses. This is a good push into higher density transit options, but in order to meet the demand that will eventually come we need to press for light rail options after the completion of the BRT lines. Concurrently, we need to push for options stretching into the northern and southern halves of the city. The BRT lines are currently an East to West implementation. My suggestion, with admittedly very little research, is to use High Street for a single line implementation as it bisects the city and is 4 lanes (2 north, 2 south). However, there may be alternate versions of this that would work better and serve more people.
Final Thoughts
To answer the question posed in the title of this post: “Could Columbus, OH Build and Maintain Passenger Rail?”, I believe the answer is yes. I think that it is important to look ahead when planning transit options but to be cautious when designing. I am looking forward to the results of the BRT project but hoping for more bold and exciting designs and options in the future.
Midwestern Trains 