Amtrak services could come to the Tri-State

HAMILTON, Ohio (WXIX) - Hamilton city officials met at a special meeting today to discuss the possibility of bringing Amtrak services to the Tri-State area.

The meeting was to discuss whether the former CSX Train Depot, which has been abandoned for nearly 20 years, could be established as an Amtrak transportation hub.

“One of the goals right now with getting Amtrak in the town is turning that old station back into its original use,” says Vice Mayor Michael Ryan

Ryan says that, if approved, officials hope to use the old train depot as one of the stops through Hamilton.

He adds that the city will need to potentially spend at least $1M to start construction on two different Amtrak lines.

“The first one is the Cardinal line, [which] runs from Chicago to Indianapolis to Hamilton to Cincinnati,” says Ryan.

The second line would be the Three C-line which would connect Cleveland to Columbus and Cincinnati.

Amtrak’s Senior Manager of Government affairs Derrick Jones says this potential addition of a train service could help attract people to the greater Cincinnati area and generate tens of millions for the communities it services.

Jones says, “We’re very pleased at Amtrak at the enthusiasm that has been shown by Hamilton and other communities like it shows that there is a real demand for quality train service.”

Hamilton officials say that the next step would be getting Governor Mike DeWine to sign off on the idea.

They expect his final say to come within the next few months after meeting with Amtrak officials.

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