Michigan Services

Michigan Services are three Amtrak passenger rail routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with the Michigan cities of Grand Rapids, Port Huron, and Detroit, and stations en route. The group is a component of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative.

Map of Amtrak routes in Michigan.
Michigan Services
Chicago
0mi
Illinois
Indiana
Hammond–Whiting
16 mi
26 km
Michigan City
52 mi
84 km
Indiana
Michigan
New Buffalo
62 mi
100 km
89 mi
143 km
 St. Joseph
Niles
89 mi
143 km
116 mi
187 km
 Bangor
Dowagiac
102 mi
164 km
151 mi
243 km
 Holland
Kalamazoo
138 mi
222 km
176 mi
283 km
 Grand Rapids
Battle Creek
160 mi
257 km
Pere Marquette
Albion
184 mi
296 km
Jackson
205 mi
330 km
208 mi
335 km
 East Lansing
Ann Arbor
243 mi
391 km
238 mi
383 km
 Durand
Dearborn
271 mi
436 km
256 mi
412 km
 Flint
Greenfield Village
274 mi
441 km
 Lapeer
Detroit
281 mi
452 km
319 mi
513 km
 Port Huron
Royal Oak
292 mi
470 km
Blue Water
Troy
296 mi
476 km
Pontiac
304 mi
489 km
Wolverine

The Michigan Services routes are:

The routes carried 780,549 passengers during fiscal year 2018.[1]

Up until fiscal year 2014, the State of Michigan only subsidized the operations of the Pere Marquette and Blue Water at a cost of $8 million in fiscal year 2014. Starting fiscal year 2014, the state took on the costs of operations for the Wolverine pushing the state subsidy to $25 million.[2]

No checked baggage service is available on Michigan Services routes.

History

When Amtrak was founded in 1971, five private companies provided inter-city passenger service in Michigan: the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O), the Grand Trunk Western, the Norfolk & Western, and Penn Central. Services provided:[3]

Company Route Name Notes
Baltimore & Ohio Detroit—Cincinnati Cincinnatian
Chesapeake & Ohio Chicago—Grand Rapids Pere Marquette
Holland—Muskegon Pere Marquette connection
Grand Rapids—Detroit Pere Marquette Two round-trips daily
Ashland—Detroit George Washington connection Weekend-only
Grand Trunk Western Chicago—Port Huron formerly the International Limited
Chicago—Toronto Maple Leaf
Chicago—Detroit Mohawk
Norfolk & Western St. Louis—Detroit Wabash Cannon Ball
Penn Central Chicago—Detroit—Buffalo formerly the Motor City Special
Chicago—Detroit—Buffalo formerly the Wolverine Until 1967, four years earlier: eastern terminus: New York City
Chicago—Detroit formerly the Michigan and Twilight Limited

Upon taking over national passenger rail service on May 1, 1971, Amtrak discontinued almost all of these, keeping just two round-trips on the Penn Central's Chicago—Detroit line. Detroit lost its direct connections to St Louis, Cincinnati, Buffalo and the Canadian province of Ontario.[4] On its first new timetable, issued on November 14, 1971, Amtrak bestowed names on these trains: the Wolverine and the St. Clair.[5] In mid-May Amtrak announced a Toledo, Ohio—Detroit connection to the new Chicago—New York Lake Shore with financial support from the state of Michigan; this train was canceled before it ran because of poor track conditions between the two cities.[6]

Turboliners
A Turboliner at Porter, Indiana in 1977.

On April 10, 1975, Amtrak introduced French-built Turboliner equipment to the Michigan route. Amtrak added a third round-trip to the corridor on April 27. A pool of three Turboliner trainsets served the route, and the three round-trip pairs were numbered 350—355, which are still in use today. Amtrak dropped the individual train names and rebranded all three Turboliner, in common with similar services to St. Louis, Missouri and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The new equipment led to massive gains in ridership, topping 340,000 in 1975 and 370,000 in 1976.[7]:195–196

The Turboliners became a victim of their own success. Although fast (and flashy), they were unable to reach their design speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) because of the poor quality of the Penn Central track in Michigan. The five-car fixed consists had a maximum capacity of 292 passengers, which was often not enough. Starting in March 1976 Amtrak began replacing some of the Turboliners with conventional equipment, including new Amfleet coaches. Individual names returned to the corridor, with the heretofore unnamed third train becoming the Twilight Limited. The last Turboliners left the corridor in 1981.[7]:195–196; 202

Blue Water
A Via Rail EMD F40PH leads the International into East Lansing in 1996.
See also: Blue Water (train) and International Limited

Amtrak restored service to the Grand Trunk Western northeast of Battle Creek on September 15, 1974, with the inauguration of the Blue Water. This train originated at Port Huron and served Lapeer, Flint, Durand, and East Lansing before joining the Chicago—Detroit trains at Battle Creek and continuing to Chicago. The state of Michigan spent $1 million on track rehabilitation. Amtrak renamed the train the Blue Water Limited on October 26, 1975, and it used Turboliners 1976—1981.[7]:203–204; 208

Michigan, Amtrak and the Canadian province of Ontario had discussed restoring Port Huron—Toronto service since 1973; this finally occurred on October 31, 1982 with the extension of the Blue Water Limited, which was renamed the International Limited (later shortened to International). Amtrak and Via Rail, the state-supported Canadian rail company, jointly operated the International until April 25, 2004, when cross-border service was discontinued: massive border delays post-September 11 led to falling ridership. Amtrak and Michigan agreed to truncate service at Port Huron and bring back the old Blue Water.[7]:207

Pontiac and Toledo
The Michigan Central Station hosted Amtrak in Detroit 1971—1988; trains continued to serve the area through 1994.
Main article: Lake Cities (Amtrak train)

On August 3, 1980, Amtrak extended the St Clair, the midday Chicago—Detroit train, to Toledo, Ohio. The train was renamed the Lake Cities and continued to use Turboliner trainsets until mid-1981.[7]:202[8] The Lake Cities schedule allowed both east- and westbound connections with the Chicago—New York Lake Shore Limited, eliminating the need for Michigan travelers to backtrack through Chicago. Budget cuts led Amtrak to discontinue service to Toledo on April 1, 1995.

Amtrak extended the Wolverine and Twilight Limited to Pontiac on May 5, 1994. With this change service began at a new station in Detroit's New Center. Although the Michigan Central Station in Corktown, Detroit had closed on January 6, 1988, trains continued to stop at a temporary platform just east of the old station. Besides Pontiac, new stations were opened at Royal Oak and Birmingham. The Lake Cities also began serving Pontiac after the end of Toledo service in 1995.[7]:199–200[9]

Pere Marquette
Main article: Pere Marquette (Amtrak train)

Amtrak considered two routes for a Chicago—Grand Rapids train: the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (ex-Pere Marquette Railway), which ran along the Lake Michigan coastline and joined the main Chicago—Detroit line at Porter, Indiana; and a Conrail (ex-Pennsylvania Railroad) route via Kalamazoo. Although the Conrail route was faster, a dispute over costs led to the selection of the C&O route. Service began August 5, 1984, with stops at Grand Rapids, Holland, Bangor, St. Joseph, New Buffalo and Hammond-Whiting.[7]:209[10] Like the Blue Water, the Pere Marquette receives financial support from the state of Michigan.

Track
The Wolverine passes through Ypsilanti on the old Michigan Central main line, now owned by the Michigan DOT.
The Pere Marquette passing a farm south of Holland on the old Pere Marquette Railway, now CSX.

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:

Blue Water
  • Grand Trunk Western Railway (GT), Battle Creek, Michigan (on the Michigan Central Railroad east of Kalamazoo) to Port Huron, Michigan, now CN

Pere Marquette

Wolverine

Proposed improvements

High-speed rail

The Detroit-Chicago corridor has been designated by the Federal Railroad Administration as a high-speed rail corridor.[11] A 97-mile (156 km) 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.[11] Amtrak began speed increases along this stretch in January 2002 to 95 mph (153 km/h) between Niles and Kalamazoo. Increases to 110 mph (180 km/h) were approved in February 2011 between Porter and Kalamazoo. Further expansion of speeds to 110 mph (180 km/h) to Dearborn, Michigan are underway.[12]

Expansion

The Michigan Department of Transportation has petitioned Amtrak to add a daily train between Chicago and Kalamazoo, departing Chicago in late evening and returning from Kalamazoo in the morning.[13] Amtrak operated an extra frequency during the Labor Day weekend in 2010. The trains, 356–357, left Kalamazoo at 5:50 am and returned from Chicago at 10:00 pm.[14] In 2013 Amtrak ran special holiday trains, numbers 356 & 359 out of Chicago to Ann Arbor. These trains arrived in Ann Arbor at 3pm and departed west an hour later at 4pm.[15] There are proposals to establish passenger service between Detroit and Grand Rapids via Lansing.

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References
  1. "Passenger Rail Statistics". mdotjboss.state.mi.us. Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  2. VanHulle, Lindsay (October 6, 2013). "Amtrak works with the state to upgrade service, raise number of riders". Gannett Michigan. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  3. Kelly, John (June 5, 2001). "Amtrak's beginnings". Classic Trains. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  4. Amtrak (May 1, 1971). "Nationwide Schedules of Intercity Passenger Service". Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  5. Amtrak (November 11, 1971). "Nationwide Schedules of Intercity Passenger Service". Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  6. "Detroit-Toledo Train Cancelled". Argus-Press. May 26, 1971. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  7. Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
  8. "Michigan–Toledo Runs Instituted By Amtrak". Toledo Blade. July 9, 1980. Retrieved April 16, 2010.
  9. Amtrak (May 1, 1994). "National Timetable Spring/Summer 1994". Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  10. Amtrak (October 28, 1984). "National Train Timetables". Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  11. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2005" (PDF). State of Michigan. Retrieved October 30, 2006.
  12. "Amtrak trains in Kalamazoo approved for 110 mph travel". MLive. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  13. Russon, Gabrielle (April 30, 2010). "Michigan asks Amtrak for another Kalamazoo-to-Chicago train". Kalamazoo Gazette. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  14. "Amtrak Is The Way To Have More Fun During The Last Holiday of The Summer" (PDF). August 27, 2010. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  15. "Amtrak Adds More Wolverine Service Trains For Holiday Travel To And From Michigan" (PDF). December 17, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
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