Cities along a passenger rail route that would run trains through Fort Wayne at up to 110 mph agreed to work together on the funding of an environmental impact study that could get the route priority status on a Federal Railroad Administration list of regional corridor projects.
The formal agreement was announced Wednesday. Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry said in a recent statement he and the mayors of eight other cities would sign the memorandum of agreement within the week.
“This is a big step forward in the effort to bring passenger rail back to our community,” Henry said. “The Chicago-Fort Wayne-Columbus corridor will be good for citizens throughout northern Indiana and central Ohio. It will increase transportation alternatives and help boost economic development and tourism.”
The route would run between Chicago and Columbus, Ohio, with eight stops of between two to three minutes at eight cities along the way. The environmental impact study would cost $2 million, an expense that would be borne by cities and states the route would serve.
In addition to Fort Wayne and Columbus, the Indiana cities in the MOA are Gary, Plymouth, Valparaiso and Warsaw and the Ohio cities involved are Kenton, Lima and Marysville.
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