Ohio Hub

The Ohio Hub is a high-speed railway project proposed by the Ohio Department of Transportation aimed at revitalizing passenger rail service in the Ohio region. Upon completion, the transit system would be composed of 860 mi (1,380 km) of track serving 32 stations. It would connect four states along with southern Ontario, consisting of 11 major metropolitan areas and 22 million people. The system's goal is to "expand the capacity of the transportation system by improving the railroads for both freight and passenger trains."

As of 2015, funding for the Ohio Hub project has been withdrawn, though the project has not been officially canceled.

The initial startup cost is currently projected to be in the $500 million range. This does not include the cost of trains or the preparations needed for high-speed service. Currently, two high-speed train systems are being explored. The first, a 79 mph (127 km/h) system, is expected to cost $2.7 billion, or $3.5 million per mile. The second option, a 110 mph (180 km/h) higher-speed system is estimated to cost $3.32 billion, or $4.5 million per mile.

The project's hub will be based at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (the state's largest and busiest airport) with a second Cleveland location near downtown Cleveland, and will provide service to adjacent cities in both the state of Ohio and the Ohio Region. Three proposals have been made for service – a single line system from Cleveland to Cincinnati, and two networked systems with multiple corridors providing service from Cleveland to various cities around the Ohio Region. Each corridor will branch out from Cleveland, and serve from four to nine stations, as well as connections to other regional rail services. Additional lines have been proposed to connect the currently planned corridors with each other throughout the state, as well as to add more stations between major cities.

The 3-C Corridor could provide service from Cleveland to Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati, a distance of 255 miles (410 km). The service is predicted to carry around 478,000 people a year, using a subsidy of $17 million from the state government.

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