Amtrak offers three passenger train routes through Ohio, serving the major cities of Toledo, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. [1]
The major cities of Columbus and Dayton do not have Amtrak passenger train stations. Columbus is the second largest city in the U.S. without passenger rail service after Phoenix, and Dayton is the fourth.[2]
Of the cities in Ohio, only Greater Cleveland has rail mass transit, with rail stations within or "across the road" from the following communities: [3]
Cleveland had a subway line crossing the Cuyahoga River on the lower-deck of Detroit-Superior Bridge traveling between Ohio City (near Detroit & West 25th. St.) and downtown Cleveland. Currently, it is only open for historical walking tours.[4] Cleveland also had a much larger electric-powered light-rail streetcar system of rail coaches & overhead lines; which were replaced by diesel-powered city transit buses.
Cincinnati once started construction of a subway, but work was abandoned during the Great Depression. Cincinnati has had efforts in the 21st century to revive train service with plans to extend train service from the Cincinnati Airport (CVG) in Kentucky to downtown Cincinnati, to Kings Island. However, funding for this project has not been found. [5]
There are also several passenger railroad lines and train stations in Ohio which offer scenic train rides.
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The Cardinal passenger train enters Ohio near College Corner, travels through Hamilton, and stops at Cincinnati Union Terminal. Most of the Union Terminal has now been turned into the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, with the Amtrak train station located in the same building. After leaving Cincinnati, the train crosses into Kentucky where it follows the Ohio River on the southern border of Ohio to Ashland, Kentucky.
Cleveland, Ohio has two standard gauge RTA Rapid Transit rail systems, one for heavy-rail and one for three light-rail "streetcar" lines: [3]
CAUTION: Both Red heavy-rail line, and Blue & Green light-rail lines have stations called "East 79th.", they are two different stations geographically apart on East 79th. St.
Similarly, the Blue & Green lines have Southington, Lee, and Warrensville stations which are pairs of different stations geographically apart on their respective street names.