The Ohio Hub was a high-speed railway project proposed in the 2000s decade by the Ohio Department of Transportation aimed at revitalizing passenger rail service in the Ohio region. The plan was awarded funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, but Governor John Kasich refused to use the funds for the project and the funds were reclaimed by the federal government. Passage of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act raised the possibility of new funding for a similar project. Background Passenger service between Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland ended on May 1, 1971, when the Ohio State Limited was discontinued upon the assumption of Penn Central Transportation's passenger service by Amtrak. Initial Ohio Hub plans Upon completion, the transit system would have been composed of of track serving 32 stations. It would connect four states along with southern Ontario, consisting of 11 major metropolitan areas and 22 million people. The system's goal was to "expand the capacity of the transportation system by improving the railroads for both freight and passenger trains." As of the mid-2000s, the initial startup cost was projected to be in the $500 million range. This did not include the cost of trains or the preparations needed for high-speed service. Two high-speed train systems were being explored. The first, a system, was expected to cost $2.7 billion, or $3.5 million per mile. The second option, a higher-speed system was estimated to cost $3.32 billion, or $4.5 million per mile. The project's hub was proposed to be based at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (the state's largest and busiest airport) with a second Cleveland location near downtown Cleveland, and to provide service to adjacent cities in both the state of Ohio and the Ohio Region. Three proposals were made for service – a single line system from Cleveland to Cincinnati, and two networked systems with multiple corridors providing service from Cleveland to various cities around the Ohio Region. Each corridor would branch out from Cleveland, and serve from four to nine stations, as well as connections to other regional rail services. Additional lines were proposed to connect the planned corridors with each other throughout the state, as well as to add more stations between major cities. The full Ohio & Lake Erie Regional Rail proposal would provide service to four states plus Canada through four corridors originating in Cleveland. An additional network was proposed with three