Warsaw City Council reviewed a proposal Monday night for an Amtrak passenger rail service.
The council reviewed a letter from Fort Wayne Mayor Thomas Henry.
Henry requested Warsaw form an alliance among cities who would benefit from the new Amtrak passenger rail service from Chicago through Fort Wayne to cities in Ohio.
Henry stated in the letter for Fort Wayne, Warsaw, Plymouth, Valparaiso, Gary, Lima and Columbus, the service would be important as there is currently no passenger rail service in those cities.
The first step for the passenger rail service is to complete an economic impact study, complete with business plans and ridership projections.
Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association is a volunteer group based in Fort Wayne which has been working to bring passenger rail to Fort Wayne and other cities which would be served by the same line.
The city of Fort Wayne, Allen County Commissioners and the Fort Wayne Community Foundation has committed $50,000 for the endeavor.
There would be an $80,000 cost for the Indiana portion, and an additional $40,000 for the Ohio portion.
Mark Dobson, Warsaw-Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce president, attended Monday’s meeting to speak on behalf of the project.
Dobson also is a member of the board of directors of the Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association and Indiana High Speed Rail Association.
Dobson said Midwest states including Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio have all signed on to high-speed rail efforts.
However, he said Indiana has spent the least amount of money, $125,000, on high speed rail.
He said Fort Wayne is the only city of its size in the nation without a passenger rail service.
“The challenge is funding because the political climate is not good for passenger rail funding,” Dobson said.
Dobson said Indiana Department of Transportation did a route decision when high-speed rail was discussed for Indiana.
A northern route went through South Bend and Elkhart to Cleveland. The south route included Plymouth, Fort Wayne, Valparaiso and Warsaw.
INDOT chose the southern route as a preferred route should Indiana have high-speed passenger rail or should a route from Chicago to Cleveland be built.
He said there would not be more than four stops on a single route and proposed stops would be in Valparaiso, Warsaw, Fort Wayne and Gary.
Dobson said although there is a low interest in high-speed rail in Indiana from the state, OrthoWorx has done a study on high-speed rail for Warsaw.
Local business owners have gone to the statehouse to present the study on high-speed rail and the economic impacts on the orthopedics industry.
Councilman Jerry Frush asked how Warsaw would benefit from high-speed rail.
Dobson said the orthopaedics industry would benefit.
“If just the orthopedic industry alone would be able to access the trains, the savings to them would be into the millions,” Dobson said.
He said the rail system would provide access to Chicago.
He also said there would be a savings to Donnelleys and Da-Lite Screens, who could ship in larger quantities.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said he supports passenger rail in Warsaw.
“It’s not just about living in Warsaw, but doing business in Warsaw and providing connectivity,” Thallemer said.
Thallemer asked the council to review the information Dobson provided and bring their thoughts and ideas to the next meeting when an approximate $5,000 donation could be made.
Follow staff writer Jennifer Peryam on Twitter at TUNews_Peryam
