Port authority: Pittsburgh train-route idea not likely

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Western Reserve Port Authority likely will abandon its idea to provide train service to and from Pittsburgh.

Authority board member Don Hanni III told board members the cost for the pilot program would have been more than the anticipated amount of $30,000.

The authority was prepared to pay $15,000 for the service and raise the rest of the cost through sponsorships, but limited train service to the Steel City would have cost upward of $60,000.

Hanni says the authority will continue to explore other rail options, including a potential smaller scale project that could travel to Columbiana County.

“We’re going to get something,” he said. “What it is, I’m not sure.”

Board member Andres Visnapuu said a more- localized train route would be easier to attain because it wouldn’t involve a large carrier traveling an interstate route. It would still draw attention to a seemingly lost form of transportation.

“It’s a neat idea to give awareness of rail,” he said.