PENINSULA, Ohio — The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency recently signed off on a more than $400,000 feasibility study to look at what it would take to expand the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad to downtown Cleveland.
Whether it's to take a trip with Santa during the holidays or to wine & dine in a train car, thousands make their way aboard the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad each year, which typically travels from Akron to Independence.
The feasibility study will examine logistical options to expand nearly 11 more miles and what the impact could look like for possible commuters and those living closer to downtown Cleveland.
"It now gives access to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park where perhaps people in the center city and urban core didn’t have access to the national park," NOACA Executive Director & CEO Grace Gallucci said. "Once the line is set up between Independence and downtown Cleveland, there is also an opportunity to use it for commuting with Independence as one of our six regional job hubs."
The study is scheduled to take about a year to complete.
"We’ve got the towpath that goes up there, we have the river now healthy, folks are kayaking, and it’s just natural to bring the train up," Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Joe Mazur explained. "We run on the historical Valley Railway. It was put in the late 1800s, and that same railway takes you up into Cleveland."
Both Gallucci and Mazur point out there’s a lot to be done before this could become a reality, including figuring out where the train could stop along the way and where it ends up exactly downtown.
The feasibility study comes as erosion repair work continues on a stretch of the existing track. As a result, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad only operates between Peninsula and Akron right now. Mazur told News 5 he plans to have the stretch of track north of Peninsula to Independence back open by the end of the year.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
