From Ken Prendergast’s column in the OARP News:

“Amtrak is [extending the Pennsylvanian] because Chicago has some mail and express shipments to offer. Ohio just happens to be along the way…

“For some reason, Amtrak officials think we’ll keep riding, regardless of how many 3 a.m. trains they throw at us. Give decent arrivals and departures to a city, with good advertising and an attractive station, and you get great ridership, as has occurred at Toledo. Ridership this year may double last year’s 100,000. When the Capitol Limited was arriving Cleveland before midnight, 76,000 people got on and off it. When it was rescheduled to arrive hours later each night, ridership plunged by 25,000.

“I guess they didn’t learn before sending a proposal to the Ohio Rail Development Commission for a Cleveland/Cincinnati/Columbus train. The train’s schedule would have been as inconvenient as trains already serving Ohio. ‘Why must we pay to get more bad service?’ ORDC smartly reasoned.

“Need more evidence of Amtrak’s disregard for Ohio? This fall, Amtrak is airing 30-second TV commercials in 46 U.S. cities, none in Ohio. So Amtrak keeps running past a golden opportunity called Ohio. That’s too bad, especially for a company that’s trying to grow its business. Sometimes, you just don’t know what you’re missing when you’re asleep.” ]