SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- Local and state officials are taking "baby steps" toward the construction of an Amtrak station in downtown Springfield, though they are hopeful that the project could be started in 2010.

The 3-C Amtrak Start-Up, as the project has been dubbed, would include service between Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati.

Officials recently identified four possible locations for a station, along the rail line in downtown Springfield. The sites are parking lots or vacant land along the Conrail Railroad tracks between Linden Avenue and South Center Street.

"We're really in the initial phases," added Thea Walsh, Transportation Director of the Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee. "There's a lot of work to be done."

At a meeting Friday, Jan. 9, TCC members listened to a presentation from Don Damron of the Ohio Rail Development Commission.

Damron told the committee that local officials had identified possible locations in Springfield for an open-air train station.

The location would have to be on one to three acres of land, with parking for 100 to 300 cars and on-site and drop-off circulation for cars and buses, among other factors, Damron said.

The initial design for the station would cost about $150,000.

A grant or some sort of other federal funding would cover the majority of that cost, Walsh said. But city and county officials expressed the most concern about maintenance and security costs of the station, which would not be staffed.

"It would primarily be the city's responsibility," Walsh said of the upkeep of the potential station. "They seemed very concerned in this meeting about the long-term costs of the facility and protecting the public space.

"I'm sure it's a conversation that they'll need to have in their own meetings," she said.

(Article courtesy of SpringfieldNewsSun.com)