Jason Williams

jwilliams@enquirer.com

Todd Portune proposes building a rail line between Downtown and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport – connecting fliers with the region's major jobs hub and potentially tying into future transit routes.

But regional leaders are scoffing at the idea offered by the Hamilton County commissioner. Nothing has been formally presented in Congress, which would have to approve using a "passenger facility charge" already imposed at U.S. airports to finance a rail line.

Portune says the next step will be presenting the idea to the Kenton County Airport board; CVG officials declined to comment.

"Look, this is just the first step of many," Portune said Thursday. "It would create an option to use these dollars in a different way."

Money would be the biggest obstacle to building a rail line, which probably would stretch 13 to 14 miles. The region also faces multiple transportation priorities including building a new Brent Spence Bridge, replacing the crumbling Western Hills Viaduct and expanding flights at CVG to try to grow and retain jobs.

Here are five other major obstacles a rail line would face:

1. Pushback from CVG, airlines

The passenger facility charge money is already accounted for. CVG has used revenue from the passenger facilities charge for runway and concourse improvements in recent years, and has other plans besides a rail line for future use of the money, including improving the taxiways leading to the runways.

The airlines would like to see fees reduced, not increased. They typically are against government fees, because passengers often blame them for higher costs. The airlines currently charge a $4.50 passenger facility fee per ticket, set by the federal government.

The feds also just doubled a "9/11 security fee" to continue to fund the Transportation Security Administration. That fee is now $11.20 for a roundtrip flight, up from $5.

Changes in rules for the passenger facility charges would be "a revenue grab, for which airline passengers should not be liable," says Sharon Pinkerton, senior vice president of Airlines for America, a Washington, D.C.-based trade organization.

2. No transit access in Brent Spence plans

Transit right-of-way is not included in plans for a new Brent Spence Bridge, which likely would be involved in any new rail line. Kentucky owns the bridge, but Ohio – led by anti-rail Republican Gov. John Kasich – is leading the project planning. Ohio Department of Transportation officials told The Enquirer earlier this year that they have no plans of adding transit right-of-way to the bridge project, which already is estimated to cost $2.6 billion.

Plans to replace the bridge and overhaul nearly eight miles of highway on either end are too far along to change without a major bureaucratic process, state officials say.

3. CVG has other pressing priorities

The airport currently is facing critical issues on many fronts. Its decades-long contract with the airlines expires at the end of next year, and negotiations are underway on a new deal. CVG hopes to use the opportunity to shift its emphasis to a multicarrier airport and lower fares after Delta Air Lines' years-long monopoly.

Meanwhile, the airport is working to build on the momentum of landing low-cost carriers Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air and aggressively recruit more discount flights. Efforts also continue to grow DHL's North American cargo hub, which absorbs airport costs and makes CVG more attractive to commercial carriers.

The airport board also is working to distance itself from the dysfunction of the Jim Huff-Larry Savage era. New Chairman Bill Robinson has done a good job of building consensus since taking over in February, but the board is awaiting the results of a state investigation. It could call for major structural changes to the board, under investigation for lavish spending on travel, food and alcohol. The audit is due out by the end of the summer.

4. Lack of political will and regional consensus

A new rail line would require consensus from multiple federal and state lawmakers, local jurisdictions and agencies. Where do you even start with this? Look no further than the Brent Spence Bridge project for how challenging it is to attain consensus on a regional mega-project. The bridge has been stuck in the planning stages for 13 years.

"Congress doesn't act very quickly on much of anything," said Ohio Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township. "I hope that this (rail) proposal would not delay the Brent Spence Bridge project while we wait around for Congress to see if they would do this."

5. Demand is questionable

Besides Portune's pitch, there's almost no buzz in the community about wanting a CVG-to-Downtown rail line. But it's not the first time the idea has been pitched. A light-rail line from the Central Business District to the airport was part of the 2002 MetroMoves plan, which Hamilton County voters overwhelmingly rejected. Since then, 500 daily flights have been cut at CVG.

A rail line might be convenient for out-of-town business travelers, convention-goers and tourists coming to Downtown hotels. But would local, suburban fliers drive Downtown, park for potentially more than the daily rate at the airport and then jump on a train to CVG?

As it is, the airport is an 18-minute drive from Fountain Square, and Northern Kentucky's TANK bus system offers an express route on the hour, seven days a week, from 5:30 a.m. until 11 p.m., at $2 one-way.

TANK officials have discussed a potential rail line to the airport, spokeswoman Gina Douthat said, "and we've determined, with the population of Northern Kentucky, the bus line that we have is adequate." ■