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August 8, 2024|Passenger

Transit Briefs: Midwest Connect Passenger Rail Project, Argo

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
The Midwest Connect Passenger Rail Project is slated to connect connect Fort Wayne, Ind., to Pittsburgh and Chicago. (Map Courtesy of Fort Wayne, Ind.)
The Midwest Connect Passenger Rail Project is slated to connect connect Fort Wayne, Ind., to Pittsburgh and Chicago. (Map Courtesy of Fort Wayne, Ind.)
The City of Fort Wayne, Ind., advances the Midwest Connect Passenger Rail project to link Chicago; Fort Wayne; Columbus, Ohio; and Pittsburgh, Pa. Also, Argo Corporation will soon introduce within the greater Toronto area a first-mile/last-mile service for commuters between their homes, workplaces and transit stations.

Midwest Connect Passenger Rail Project

The City of Fort Wayne, in partnership with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), recently retained HNTB Corporation to assist with implementing the Midwest Connect Corridor Identification and Development (CID) grant.

In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded the City of Fort Wayne a $500,000 CID grant. The grant funds the development of a scope, schedule, and budget for performing corridor planning and preparing a Service Development Plan to implement passenger rail service from Pittsburgh to Chicago via Fort Wayne and Columbus. The Midwest Connect Passenger Rail Project would reinstate service on an existing 545-mile alignment.

The City of Fort Wayne reported Aug. 2 that HNTB was awarded up to $450,000 to review past studies, remaining gaps, and establish the scope, schedule, and budget for the remaining planning work for the project. The contract for these initial tasks runs through June 2025.

According to the City, passenger rail on the Midwest Connect Corridor has garnered support from several key stakeholders, including the Northern Indiana Passenger Rail Association (NIPRA), Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC), Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG), Northeastern Indiana Regional Coordinating Council (NIRCC), Lima/Allen County Regional Planning Commission (LACRPC), Licking County Area Transportation Study (LCATS), Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA), and Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission (BHJTS) and All Aboard Ohio.

“It’s encouraging to see this progress as Fort Wayne continues to lead an effort that will have a lasting and meaningful impact,” Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker said. “As work continues with our partners, it’s our belief that this latest effort gives us the best chance to restore passenger rail services to Fort Wayne.”

“This is a major step forward in the public-private effort to reconnect Central Ohio to the nation’s passenger rail network,” MORPC Executive Director William Murdock said. “This partnership across several states helps to advance the required work to qualify for federal funds for implementation. It builds on years of work showing passenger rail is a critical investment for prosperity and attracting talent.”

HNTB is said to have worked on more than 40 passenger rail corridors nationwide. The consultancy played a role in preparing the CID grant request and can handle all project phases, including feasibility studies, planning, environmental review, conceptual design, final design, and construction management.

Argo

(Argo Image)

Argo on Aug. 7 reported that in the coming weeks it plans to launch an “intelligent, door-to-door, public transit solution.” Partnering with cities, transit agencies, and governments in the greater Toronto area, the company said its aim is to deliver “the first-ever vertically and publicly integrated city transit system designed to augment public transportation and create a network of intelligently routed vehicles that work together to serve and scale to the needs of entire cities, putting people in control of their mobility.” Argo will offer first-mile/last-mile service, moving commuters between their homes, workplaces and transit system stations.

“With road traffic set to get significantly worse in the coming years and decades, it’s critical that we take cars off the road by making public transit the most convenient way to get around,” said Praveen Arichandran, co-CEO and co-founder of Argo. “We’re bringing world-class technology talent back home to Canada and are excited to partner with cities and transit agencies, as well as provincial and federal governments to showcase Canadian innovation and the future of public transit on a global stage.”

Argo is slated to “integrate custom software with vehicular hardware to create a network of intelligently routed vehicles that work together to serve and scale real-time to the needs of entire cities,” the company explained. “By picking people up at their door via its simple on-demand app, Argo will eliminate the need to walk or wait, driving increased ridership to existing transit lines and taking cars off the road.”