A draft study by Amtrak of passenger rail service in the state includes an initial route with stops at downtown locations in Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati and a couple of points in between.

Trains would stop six times a day in Cleveland and Cincinnati and eight times a day in Columbus. Service could be up and running by 2011.

SOURCE: Amtrak Passenger train service between Cleveland and Cincinnati would carry nearly half a million passengers a year, but cost more than $500 million to get under way, according to a study released Tuesday by Amtrak.

The initial proposal calls for six stations along the 255-mile route -- two in Cleveland -- at the lakefront Amtrak station and at RTA's transit station at West 150th Street and Puritas Avenue -- and in Columbus, Dayton, Sharonville, a northern Cincinnati suburb, and Cincinnati.

The service, which could start in two years, would leave Cleveland at 6:30 a.m. and arrive in Columbus at 9:53 a.m., according to a proposed schedule. The trains, run by Amtrak, would travel at 79 mph.

Ticket prices have not been determined. But a one-way ticket from Cleveland to Cincinnati would cost $25.50 at the Amtrak average of 10 cents per mile, said Ken Prendergast, executive director of All Aboard Ohio, a nonprofit agency that promotes rail travel.

Four trains would cross the state daily on existing CSX and Norfolk Southern freight tracks, which would need to be improved, Amtrak said. Two trains would be based in Columbus and one each in Cleveland and Cincinnati.

The state will use this feasibility study, along with public input and an environmental study, to apply to the Federal Railroad Administration for federal stimulus money to pay for the entire project. Ohio cannot do the 3C project without that federal money.

But Ohio is not alone in seeking federal money. Several hundred applications totaling more than $100 billion will compete for $8 billion in federal funds. The application deadline is Oct. 2.

The hope is that the 3C corridor would eventually fit into a larger national train network that would go west to Chicago and east to New York at a speed of 110 mph.

While the service is projected to generate $12 million annually in revenue, the state would need to provide $17 million yearly to subsidize operating costs, Amtrak said.

Ohio officials are optimistic and said the Amtrak study confirms the need for passenger rail.

"It shows that Ohioans really want this true travel choice," said Scott Varner, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation. "With close to half a million potential riders it would make us the 12th largest passenger rail corridor in the country."

Amtrak studied ridership, revenue and operating costs for the proposed 3C plan.

Varner said ODOT could help pay for the service with money from on-train advertising, franchise fees and from highway advertising.

Sen. Tom Patton, a Strongsville Republican who heads the Senate's Transportation Committee and has been critical of the 3C plan, questioned whether it's worth the state spending hundreds of millions on construction and tens of millions in annual subsidies for about 1,300 riders a day.

"We have a couple million people a day that ride commuter bus systems in this state," Patton said. "We need to address [funding] that because we have bus systems shutting down. We should be taking a look at what's in the best interests of the most amount of people."

Varner said ODOT is studying ways to find more funds for bus service. But the state has to invest in all modes of transportation. The Amtrak report shows Ohioans support passenger rail and nearly 6 million people live within 15 miles of the 3C route, he said.

"What we are seeing is the pent-up demand," he said.

The Amtrak report is available at http://3cisme.ohio.gov

Plain Dealer reporter Aaron Marshall contributed to this story.