Group pitches train stop

NEW MIAMI — The Hamilton Vision Commission is trying to fast-track a plan to include a train station at the Butler County Regional Airport in a statewide passenger rail system now being laid out on paper.

They pitched the idea to Butler County Commissioners Thursday evening, July 2, in New Miami.

“We think it is strategically located in the heart of the county,” said vision commission member Rob Wile, describing an “inter-modal” hub where people could switch to bus, car, plane or bicycle after departing the train.

The airport straddles Hamilton and Fairfield. He said it is immediately surrounded by vacant land that would be prime for economic development, while also within a 7-mile radius of more than a quarter million people.

Wile said it has the support of Hamilton and Fairfield government and business leaders, and the state has not ruled it out. And it is far more likely than getting a stop in Hamilton itself, he said, because the rail lines the state plans to use simply don’t go there.

Without this stop, the cross-state passenger train being planned would cruise uninterrupted from Sharonville to Middletown.

Commissioners supported the idea, but stressed they don’t want a new stop competing with the one planned in Middletown.

“I think we should first make sure that happens,” said Commission President Donald Dixon.

Vision Commission members agreed. But realistically, they are competing, said state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, ranking minority member on the House transportation committee.

“The chance of two stops (in Butler County) is probably very slim,” Combs said.

He said the airport would be a better location, but Middletown is better situated on the existing line. The airport stop would slow down the train by up to 10 minutes.

“Time is crucial,” Combs said, as the Ohio Rail Development Commission — which will make the final decision by September — tries to plan a route from Cleveland to Cincinnati that takes no more than 6 to 8 hours.