What is the POW V Corridor?

The POW V corridor is a railroad 'right of way' which spans from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Columbus, OH. POW V High Speed Rail was born ~25 years ago when a group of railroaders and regional leaders gathered to save the 'Panhandle Right of Way' via a motion to bring high-speed rail to the line. Under the terms of the provided 'right of way', if there was intent to bring high-speed rail to the line, the line could not be removed. This, in turn, blocked the railroad's intentions back in the 1980's. If we fast-forward to 2008, the original POW V team realized the climate was ripe to resurface the idea. While high-speed rail should have been implemented 25 years ago in the United States, we are now presented with the obvious need for its development.

Ok, now that you have the basic story of how the POW V Corridor came to be, where does this route actually take us? As mentioned the route begins from the East in Pittsburgh, PA and heads westward. The route heads due west towards the West Virginia northern panhandle passing through Weirton, WV. Crossing the Ohio River from Weirton, this line then passes into Ohio thru Steubenville, OH. From there, the line continues westward although dropping a bit to the south towards Columbus. Along its pathway in Ohio, the POW V line touches the cities of Uhrichsville, New Comerstown, Coshocton and Newark (then Columbus).

Let's assume you agree we need high-speed rail from Pittsburgh to Columbus. You might then ask, why this route? To fully understand this route's significance, we need to understand the history of this line. This line attained and is still often referenced as the 'Pan Handle Railroad' because of its passage across the northern pan handle of West Virginia. In the 1850's, multiple railroad companies connected this route. From its origination to the 1970's, this line served as a primary route in building the infrastructure of our nation. For the industrial revolution, it connected the Eastern seaboard with the Midwestern cities like St. Louis. As it still does today, the location of this line made it's service a necessity of a growing nation. To read more details on the railroads which originally brought the Pan Handle Railroad, see Pan Handle Route.

High-speed rail makes sense. It makes sense now in America and it makes sense to start it within a route and region which brought us our first industrial revolution. To join our movement, go to www.powvtransit.com or email us directly at highspeedrail@powvtransit.com to learn more about our growing team!