Columbus - The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) today approved a $50,000 grant to the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) for a "Freight Capacity Study."

The study will investigate how to expand the capacity of freight railroads to move more commerce at the same time that COTA’s builds and operates a light rail along freight rail rights-of-way in Columbus. In addition, the study will investigate how to fit high speed rail passenger service, which is now in the conceptual planning stages at ORDC, into the Columbus area transit and freight mix.

COTA is in the Preliminary Engineering stages of its "North Corridor Light Rail Transportation" project between downtown Columbus, The Ohio State University, and southern Delaware County near the Polaris developments. The North Corridor project has qualified for federal "New Start" program funding. COTA’s plans include the use of freight railroad rights-of-way owned by CSX Transportation, Inc. and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) by light rail trains serving Columbus area transit needs.

ORDC has obtained a federal "High Speed Rail Corridor" designation for the Cleveland - Columbus - Cincinnati "3C" corridor. There is no current federal new start money for high speed rail though there are several bills under discussion.

"COTA and ORDC both recognize that our plans for light rail transit and intercity high speed rail passenger service involve using privately owned rail freight property" said ORDC Executive Director James E. Seney. "We respect the private property of the railroads."

Director Seney noted that with the projected continued growth of both freight and passenger movement in Ohio and the rest of the nation, government sponsored passenger projects need to augment the capacity of freight railroads, not diminish it.

"ORDC’s policy is that we will not support rail passenger service on freight rail lines or rights-of-way without improving the capacity of the host railroads to move freight," Seney said.

ORDC’s grant will augment $358,000 in other COTA funds to complete the study.

"We are glad to partner with COTA in this effort" stated ORDC Chairman James E. Betts. "I am glad to see that ORDC and COTA see eye-to-eye on the issue of how to develop projects that improve both freight and passenger capacity."

Included in the Freight Capacity Study are investigations into providing both CSX and NS better intermodal facilities in central Ohio. Also to be studied are the projected freight flows after various other freight improvements are made in the course of building both North Corridor transit and high speed rail facilities.