Ohio Rail Development Commission cites federal grants, grade crossing program to reduce crashes

Matt Dietrich, executive director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission, told the Senate Transportation Committee on Feb. 26 that rail moves large volumes of freight across Ohio, supports thousands of jobs and that state and federal grants are accelerating construction on grade separations and safety projects.

Dietrich said Ohio ranks fourth in the United States by size of rail network, with active rail lines present in 86 of 88 counties and more than 5,000 miles of active track. He described Ohio’s network as dense and noted about 56% of railroad mileage is owned by two Class I railroads and roughly 89% of mileage is privately owned. He emphasized rail’s role in taking trucks off the road, saying an average rail car equals three to four trucks.

Safety and crossings: Dietrich told the committee there are about 5,600 at‑grade rail crossings in Ohio. About 62% have lights and gates, 9% have flashing lights, and the remainder are passive crossings. He said Ohio averages 63 to 70 rail crossing crashes per year on a ten‑year rolling average; 2024 saw 77 crashes. He described efforts to install active warning devices and other crossing improvements, and said the commission responds to crash sites to evaluate further physical improvements.

Grade Crossing Elimination and federal grants: Dietrich outlined the state’s Grade Crossing Elimination program — a multiyear effort to fund grade separations and other capital work — and said the program’s presence in the budget helped Ohio secure federal construction awards. He said the commission recently received $81 million in federal funding for four projects — North Ridgeville, Hudson, Circleville and Delaware County — and that the state program’s earlier planning funds positioned Ohio to win construction grants rather than only planning funds.

Program results and leverage: Dietrich said the commission has approved loans and grants to about 101 projects since 2019, created more than 1,900 jobs, retained about 4,200 jobs and supported an additional 16,000 jobs. He said federal discretionary grant awards brought approximately $87 million to Ohio projects and that federal funds leveraged state and private investments at a substantial ratio.

Limitations and role: Dietrich told senators the commission’s role is capital and safety at crossings and encouraging high‑level planning for passenger corridors; the commission does not hold regulatory authority for incident command or derailment response. He urged legislators and constituents to report crossing safety concerns to the commission: “If any of you or your constituents have a rail grade crossing safety concern, give us a call. Just call us.”

Passenger corridors and planning: Dietrich said the state applied under the IIJA corridor identification program for two passenger corridors (Columbus–Cleveland and Cleveland–Toledo–Detroit) and noted the Midwest Connect applicant (Fort Wayne) is pursuing a proposed Chicago–Columbus–Pittsburgh connection; the commission’s role on passenger rail is planning rather than construction in most cases.

Next steps and requests: Dietrich asked lawmakers to continue support for the commission’s temporary law language that enables continuation of Grade Crossing Elimination work into the next biennium and briefed members on additional planned studies and candidate locations for separation or other safety work.