Oxford officials say designs for the planned Amtrak station on Chestnut Street are more than halfway completed and a groundbreaking on the train platform is on track to happen this year.
During their last meeting of 2025, City Council members approved plans for the platform and authorized the city manager to enter an agreement with CSX Transportation to use the railroad's right-of-way for a train station.
Assistant City Manager Jessica Green tells WVXU the city expects to have full construction designs soon from construction management firm AECOM.
"In this year, we're going to finish up what the actual platform will look like — how riders gain access to the platform; how they get their tickets; how they board — all of that's being designed right now," Green explains. "Amtrak has to approve it, and then the Ohio Department of Transportation has to approve it. Once they give us the approval, we'll then go out for bid for people to construct it for us."
She says she's optimistic they'll break ground in this calendar year. The platform is slated to be operational by the end of 2027.
Amtrak's Cardinal Line will service the station. The train currently stops in Cincinnati on its way between New York City and Chicago. Once the new platform opens, the train also will stop in Oxford. The Cardinal Line leaves from Cincinnati for Chicago on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. It does the return trip on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Departures and arrivals at the Oxford station will occur in the overnight hours.
Green says the roughly $4 million project is funded.
"We have a $2 million grant through (the Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana Regional Council of Governments - OKI) to assist with this," she says. "OKI is a large grant supporter, and then the match will come from an even split between the city and Miami University."
Along with a long platform for loading and unloading, it will have a shelter and passenger display systems, and access to the Butler County Regional Transit Authority's newly opened Chestnut Street Station just across the street.
"We're also partnering with the Butler County Regional Transit Authority to provide a waiting room, a display board for trains in their facility, so that a person can wait where it's warm, and/or use the facilities, and then walk out to the platform to catch the train," says Green.
The entire facility — built on the former location of Talawanda High School — is to be a multi-modal transit stop.
"Our new bike trail is connecting right up to the same location, and it's under construction right now. Miami has the long-term parking lot there, so we literally are going to have bikes, cars, trains and buses all in one multi-modal (stop) and so the city of Oxford, we're just really excited about this project," she concludes.
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