AKRON, Ohio — Starting May 3, people can see the beauty of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Lynee Bixler is the director of communications for Cuyahoga Scenic Railroad; she said they are excited to see everyone and hear the whistle in the valley again.
The scenic railroad returned to the tracks Friday after the nonprofit paused operations for two months to improve the vintage railcar.
It takes passengers through 26 miles of nature.
Bixler said they've made improvements to their radio communications and management software.
"We have new cameras on the front end of the locomotives; we have a new sound system running throughout the system. We even have a new volunteer registration program because we rely on volunteers for a lot of things. So, we've implemented a new software program to make it easier for people to come and volunteer with the railroad," said Bixler.
Bixler said they also made the train handier cap accessible.
"We've updated our ADA car to accommodate table seating, so people that have accessibility issues can possibly enjoy a meal where they are seated on the train instead of tackling some of the obstacles that involves moving from one end of the train to the next," said Bixler.
Many people were excited about the return of the scenic railroad, like Patrick Grijack, who rides the train weekly during the spring.
"It's very relaxing, it's educational with the volunteers that they have on the train, and you don't want to miss anything by looking away or looking at a phone. You just want to enjoy the ride," said Grijack.
Visitors can usually hop on the train from the Akron, Independence and Peninsula stations. Still, the Independence location will be closed until the national park repairs the erosion around the tracks.
"Due to some erosion issues that are being taken care of right now, we are only boarding in Peninsula and Akron, but we also are operating the explorer program that has stopped in between so if you want to bike or hike or walk along the towpath, we can take you in one direction and then you can hop on at any of those interim spots as well, "said Bixler.
You can buy tickets by clicking here.
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