Passenger Rail Already Exceeding Estimates
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 By Marc KilmerGongwer News Service($) reports that Ohio’s passenger rail plans are already costing more than anticipated. In a split vote, the Controlling Board approved a $200,000 increase in the amount being paid to a California consulting firm to analyze the feasibility of passenger rail service. The Controlling Board approved $450,000 in March to pay for this contract.
The amount approved for this contract is the first in many expenditures by the state on passenger rail service. It’s a pretty bad sign for taxpayers when this first expenditure has to be increased by 44% in only five months. It is a good example of exactly how this passenger rail push will work, though. As various parts of the plan unfold, the government will say each costs a certain amount and then that amount will be revised upwards later. It’s pretty clear this project will require far more from state taxpayers than the current estimates of $10 million in yearly subsidies.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:05 am
Buried in the information ORDC provided the Controlling Board is the letter of agreement between ODOT/ORDC and the small four-person consulting firm in California (Woodside) that is actually subcontracting out the work to a guy who’s charging us $300-an-hour. Great gig if you can get it. These rates are even higher than lawyer rates the Ohio AG normally pays out for special counsel work. The 3C rail route is a black hole for public funding. But Ohio’s “un-electeds” — Molitoris at ODOT and Dietrich at ORDC — are hell bent on pushing this bad, costly idea further down the wrong track. With some luck, Cincy voters can help it fall under its own weight if they pass the “anti-trolley” rail ballot in November. If the 3C boondoggle continues, Ohio waste $1.53 billion showing the world just how mired it is in the past, as train-museum trains will be stoked back up for the nearly 7-hour trip from one C to the next. Ted and his rail advisers have made a terrible choice with the 3C, one Ohio taxpayers will shot down if given a chance. And spending on this magnitude should become a statewide vote and a major campaign issue for 2010.