This week, The Ohio Senate is voting on high-speed rail. Our elected officials have a once in a generation opportunity to rebuild our transportation system for the 21st century. We can choose to improve on our investments in existing infrastructure by enhancing the connectivity of our major cities or remain stuck in the zero-choice status quo.

The benefits of rail are many fold. Improving rail lines in the state will improve freight capacity and remove trucks from our highways which will improve the safety of motorists and reduce the wear and tear on I-71. Investing in the 3-C Corridor greatly enhances the competitiveness of all of the state’s airports by making them into a super-regional hub. With passenger rail, more travel business will be attracted to Ohio. Airlines can partner with the rail company to offer connecting service between Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati as well as Akron, Mansfield and Dayton – stops that aren’t cost competitive for air flights.

The benefits of passenger rail service include increased choices for all of us, especially business travelers who will increase their productivity working on a train rather than burning up fuel and wasting time staring at pavement for hours. Ohioans, since 1971, have had no other practical choice other than to travel the 3C Corridor by car. This corridor has an estimated 50 million trips per year and is the densest interior corridor in the U.S. with approximately 5.6 million people living within 15 miles of the proposed corridor.

Some opponents have said that rail won’t pay for itself. We think this conservative mindset isn’t healthy for the state’s future.

First, isn’t it time we acknowledge the double standard that rail projects, like highways or transmission lines, are not built solely to be revenue generators (do highways pay for themselves?). With smart partnerships (like the airlines and freight companies mentioned above), intercity rail will generate revenue, reduce congestion, offer a competitive transportation option (with gas prices already starting to creep up again), address climate change (and the uncertainties of a near-term carbon pricing legislation).

Ohio can do all of this with the federal government paying 100 percent of the bill.

The critics have said we’ll wind up paying for keeping the 3-C Corridor running, while supporters say the line should generate revenue to cover at least 80% of the operating cost. Once we factor in avoiding the cost of building, widening and repairing highways and the externalities of air pollution, which could be going up with a carbon cap-and-trade system coming in the U.S., the cost of operating a train drops further.

Rail advocacy group All Aboard Ohio writes, whether you like trains or not, this is about economic development.

Ohio would see 2,400 new jobs result with an increase in annual incomes of $50 million, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data. This is not about nostalgia or even about running trains. It’s about creating jobs, providing mobility at one-third the cost of driving, travel productivity and comfort, as well as protecting the environment and our exposure to future oil price spikes. We cannot let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip by.

A passenger train connecting millions of Ohioans to our major metropolitan areas is a smart investment in a future filled with uncertainties for the automobile and economies based on endless supplies of fossil fuel. As gasoline prices creep back up, we need to proactively plan for a transportation network in Ohio that supports all modes of transportation and provides choices for our residents, businesses and visitors. By providing transportation choices, we can create new jobs, mitigate environmental impacts and save Ohioans money.