A proposed Amtrak route linking Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati could give Ohioans whose disabilities prevent them from driving another way to reach jobs, medical care, family and other destinations across the state.

But accessible trains alone would not guarantee an accessible trip. Station locations, platform designs, staffing, schedules and connections with local transportation remain undecided. Those choices would help determine whether riders could complete their journeys independently.

The proposed route, known as 3C+D, is still in the federal planning process. The Federal Railroad Administration’s most recent status report, dated March 31, lists $500,000 for the corridor’s initial planning step but no federal funding for the next two steps. The Ohio Rail Development Commission is sponsoring the project.

The first step establishes the scope, schedule and estimated cost of preparing a service development plan. A second step would study route alternatives, stations, schedules, ridership, costs and other elements of possible service. The third would cover environmental review and preliminary engineering.

Federal funding covers the full cost of the first step. Under Federal Railroad Administration rules, the second step requires a 10% nonfederal contribution and the third requires 20%. That gives the governor and General Assembly a potential role in deciding whether Ohio continues advancing the route.

The project has become an issue in the 2026 governor’s race. Cleveland.com previously reported that Democrat Amy Acton’s campaign said she broadly supports rail investment, including Amtrak expansion and public transit. Libertarian Don Kissick opposes spending state money on the initiative. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign did not respond to questions from cleveland.com.

Those positions concern the broader question of whether Ohio should pursue passenger rail. Disability advocates have focused on another issue: whether expanded rail could provide independent intercity transportation for people who cannot drive.

“For those who cannot drive, passenger rail provides an accessible mode of travel from city to city,” Katie Hunt Thomas wrote in a June 8 update for The Ability Center.

Thomas said rail could help people travel for medical appointments, work and visits with family and friends. She identified the Cleveland Clinic and University of Michigan as examples of medical centers that may be difficult to reach without a car.

The Toledo-based disability advocacy organization has concentrated much of its recent passenger-rail work on proposed routes involving Toledo. The transportation limitations it describes, however, also apply to travel among the 3C+D cities.

“Rail provides the access to specialized care, services and recreational activities that other transportation may not provide,” Sally Fish, a disability rights advocate with The Ability Center, told the Toledo Free Press in July 2025.

Local bus and paratransit systems provide transportation within their service areas but generally do not offer a way to travel across Ohio. Federal rules typically tie required complementary paratransit to the hours of an existing bus or rail route and to locations within three-fourths of a mile of that route or its stations.

The Federal Transit Administration describes paratransit as a safety net for people who cannot use regular transit because of a disability, not a service designed to meet every transportation need.

Ohio’s existing Amtrak network does not connect all four 3C+D cities. Cleveland and Cincinnati have Amtrak service, but Columbus and Dayton do not.

During fiscal year 2025, Amtrak operated an average of five trains a day on three long-distance routes serving seven Ohio stations. Passengers boarded or left trains in the state 152,749 times, according to Amtrak’s fiscal year 2025 Ohio fact sheet.

Amtrak says accessible seats and spaces for passengers using wheelchairs or other wheeled mobility devices are available on all its trains. Passengers may remain in their mobility devices during a trip, and boarding assistance can include ramps, lifts or equipment that bridges the space between a platform and train.

Station services vary. Amtrak advises passengers to check individual stations before traveling and says more assistance is generally available at staffed stations. Courtesy wheelchairs are available at most staffed stations but not at every stop.

Amtrak’s fiscal year 2025 Ohio report listed accessibility work in progress at six of the state’s seven stations and projected nearly $23.7 million in spending. The report lists about $6.3 million in work associated with Cleveland, targeted for completion in fiscal year 2027, and about $5.7 million associated with Elyria, targeted for fiscal year 2028. Lorain County describes the Elyria project as relocating Amtrak service to its Transportation and Community Center and constructing accessible platforms, canopies and a pedestrian bridge. The Cleveland and Elyria projects are separate from the proposed 3C+D route.

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits disability discrimination in public transportation and requires covered transportation services and facilities to meet accessibility standards. The Ability Center notes that the law requires existing public transportation to be accessible but does not require a government to establish service where none exists.

The 3C+D corridor has not been approved for construction or passenger service. Its stations, schedules, construction cost, operating subsidy and ticket prices have not been determined.

If the project advances, the next planning stage would begin addressing many of those questions. For Ohioans who cannot drive, the route’s usefulness would depend not only on whether they could board the train, but also on whether they could reach the station, navigate it and travel from the destination station to where they need to go.

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