Michigan Services
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Michigan Services is an umbrella term used by Amtrak to describe passenger rail service by three separate routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with the Michigan cities of Grand Rapids, Port Huron, and Detroit, as well as other stations along the three lines. The Michigan Services routes as a group are a component of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative.
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[edit] Michigan Services routes
Michigan Services is made up of the following routes:
- Blue Water: Port Huron, Michigan to Chicago
- Wolverine: Pontiac, Michigan to Chicago
- Pere Marquette: Grand Rapids, Michigan to Chicago
[edit] Ridership
The three routes taken together carried 664,284 passengers for revenues of $20.3 million during fiscal year 2005-2006, a record.[1]
[edit] Funding
The Pere Marquette and Blue Water services receive funding from the State of Michigan. For fiscal year 2005-2006 this was $7.1 million. Because of improving revenues and patronage over the past year, the contract for FY 2006-2007 is for $6.2 million.[1]
[edit] High-speed rail
The Detroit-Chicago corridor has been designated by the Federal Railroad Administration as a high-speed rail corridor.[2] A 97-mile stretch along the route of Blue Water and Wolverine from Porter, Indiana to Kalamazoo, Michigan is the longest segment of track owned by Amtrak outside of the Northeast Corridor.[2] Amtrak began speed increases along this stretch in January 2002. Currently, trains reach a speed of 95 mph between Niles and Kalamazoo. Ultimately, speed increases to 110 mile-per-hour service are planned.[2][3]
[edit] Track
The tracks used were originally part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central Railroad, Grand Trunk Railway and Pere Marquette Railway systems, and are now owned by CSX, Norfolk Southern, the Canadian National Railway, Conrail and Amtrak. The following lines are used:
[edit] Wolverine
- Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway (PRR), Chicago, Illinois to Whiting, Indiana, now NS
- Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (NYC), Whiting to Porter, Indiana, now NS
- Michigan Central Railroad (NYC), Porter to Detroit, Michigan, now Amtrak west of and NS east of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Conrail in Detroit
- Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway (GT), Detroit to Pontiac, Michigan, now CN
[edit] Blue Water
- Grand Trunk Western Railway (GT), Battle Creek, Michigan (on the Michigan Central Railroad east of Kalamazoo) to Port Huron, Michigan, now CN
[edit] Pere Marquette
- Pere Marquette Railway, Porter, Indiana to Grand Rapids, Michigan, now CSX
[edit] Airport connections
At the Chicago end of all three lines, riders may easily connect to either O'Hare International Airport or Midway International Airport, using nearby CTA stations. For O'Hare, riders should walk to the Clinton CTA station and ride the Blue line, which operates 24 hours a day. For Midway, riders should walk to the Quincy/Wells CTA station and ride the Orange line.
Travelers headed to Detroit Metropolitan Airport should exit at the Dearborn station, take SMART bus route 200 west (outbound) and transfer to route 280 south at Middlebelt Road.
Travelers headed to Lansing Capital City Airport must take Capital Area Transportation Authority bus route 20 north to Grand River Avenue, the route 1 west to Grand Boulevard in Downtown Lansing, then route 14 north to the Airport.
[edit] References
- ^ a b MDOT renews Amtrak contract, notes record ridership on Michigan routes. Michigan Department of Transportation (November 16, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-20.
- ^ a b c Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2005. State of Michigan. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.
- ^ "Michigan: Amtrak taking service to new speeds", WNDU-TV. Retrieved on 2006-11-01.
[edit] External links
- Amtrak - Michigan Services
- Amtrak Michigan Services Website
- Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
