NOACA, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress Launch Advocacy Campaign to Expand Cleveland Amtrak Service
Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA), and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP) are advocating to expand Cleveland’s Amtrak service into a central passenger rail line. As the economic powerhouse of Northeast Ohio, Downtown Cleveland is home to the state’s largest jobs hub and residential downtown area, making it central to business, housing and events, and a critical access route within the region and beyond. The organizations are joining forces to seek community input and support for the initiative through a survey, running through the month of August.
“Improving service along existing east-west corridors is the most cost-effective way to get started, to demonstrate passenger rail's potential for creating economic growth, attracting new business, tourism and new talent to Ohio,” said Grace Gallucci, NOACA’s Executive Director & CEO. “The freedom to travel more frequently during the day – providing inner-city and inter-state connections – more safely and efficiently will enhance quality of life for our residents while also advancing regional and state efforts.”
The campaign launches to urge support from Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly. Given Ohio’s – and Cleveland’s – central location, NOACA, DCA, and CNP are pushing for improved passenger rail service to underserved corridors: Chicago and Detroit to the west, and Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. to the east. The expansion would leverage the current infrastructure on the east-west corridors as well as financial investments from Amtrak, making it an easy and relatively low-cost opportunity for outsized improvements to Ohio’s transportation network.
Cleveland is critical to America’s passenger rail network, seeing close to 50,000 riders annually, and currently the station only operates between midnight and 8:00 a.m. The expansion of Downtown Cleveland’s rail service to include daytime trips would lead to higher ridership, and the ability to align increased service with federal requests presents a once in a generation opportunity.
NOACA, DCA, and CNP are encouraging the community to use the survey to share feedback on how expanded passenger rail service could enhance life in Northeast Ohio. For more information, contact Danielle Render or Heather Holmes.
NOACA is the transportation and environmental planning agency representing five counties in Northeast Ohio, focused on sustainable, multimodal transportation that enhances quality of life in the region. DCA is a nonprofit economic development organization representing more than $3.75 billion of real estate, Ohio's largest jobs hub, and the largest residential downtown in Ohio. CNP is a local community development intermediary dedicated to equitable revitalization throughout Cleveland’s neighborhoods.
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About Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA)
Downtown Cleveland Alliance’s mission is to attract residents, jobs, and investment to the city’s core through market influence, community impact, and creating irresistible experiences. We envision Downtown Cleveland as the hub of an inclusive 24/7 global city and welcoming beacon of talent that weaves downtown districts and surrounding neighborhoods into a seamless urban fabric.
About Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP)
Cleveland Neighborhood Progress is a local community development intermediary with thirty years of experience investing in community revitalization work in Greater Cleveland. Their work aims to foster equitable revitalization throughout Cleveland’s neighborhoods by strengthening the community development ecosystem.
