Category Archives: Announcements

Announcements

Winter sale on Amtrak’s Michigan Services

Click for the ad (pdf)
Link to deal at Amtrak.com

Amtrak’s Michigan Services is offering a 20% discount off the regular (full) adult rail fare between Jan. 21 and March 31, 2008.

Up to two children between the ages of 2 and 15 years old may accompany each adult at half the regular (full) adult rate.

This offer is valid for the Blue Water, Pere Marquette and Wolverine train services for travel between all cities on these selected trains. Seating is limited and seats may not be available on all trains at all times.

The offer is valid on coach seats. Upgrade to business class is allowed upon full payment of applicable accomodations charges.

Refer to discount code V664 when making reservations.

Blackouts apply on Feb. 15, Feb. 18, March 21 and March 24, 2008.

This offer is subject to any restrictions, blackouts and refund rules that apply to the type of fare purchased and upon which the discount is based.

The offer cannot be combined with any other discount offer. Other restrictions may apply.

Amtrak, Blue Water, Pere Marquette and Wolverine are registered service marks of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.

Announcements, Meetings

9th MICHIGAN RAILROAD HISTORY CONFERENCE

 

Owosso, Michigan

     Saturday, November 10, 2007

 

Location: Memorial Healthcare Hospital Auditorium, 826 King St., Owosso, MI 48867,

 one-quarter of a mile west of M-52 and three-quarters of a mile north of M-21.

  Parking is the on North side of the auditorium on the East side of hospital.

 

CONFERENCE PRESENTATION SCHEDULE ($40.00 prepaid each early, $45.00 on/after October 1):

 

  8:00 am…..Registration: Pick up your prepaid conference packets and enjoy coffee and conversation.

  8:40 am…..Introductions by Chairperson, Greg Degowski, and Honorary Chairperson, Pat Hackett.

  9:00 am…..”Copper Country Railroads”—George Anderson

  9:40 am…..”Ann Arbor Railroad Yards”—T.J. Gaffney and Andy VanderMolen.

10:20 am…..Break.

10:35 am…..”Development of the Standard Boxcar in the U.S.”—Vince Robinson.

11:15 am….. “Railroads in the Thumb of Michigan”—Darwin Simonaitis.

11:55 am….. Buffet Lunch.

12:35 pm….. Keynote Presentation: “Preservation of Michigan Railroad Depots”—Ron Campbell and                              Jackie Hoist.

  1:15 pm….. “Railroads and Industries of Milwaukee Junction”—Bob Cosgrove.

  1:55 pm….. “Northern Division of Michigan Railway Company”—Norm Krentel.

  2:35 pm….. Break.

  2:50 pm….. “Building of the Detroit and Pontiac”—Paul Trap

  3:30 pm….. “History of Amtrak”—John DeLora.

  4:10 pm….. “Pere Marquette N-1 class 2-8-4’s”—Rod Crawford.

  4:50 pm…. Closing Remarks

  5:00 pm….. End of the formal conference program.  Drive to public parking on Washington St. at                                     Comstock St. on the north side of Shiawassee River opposite the Steam Railroading Institute.                        Walk along Washington St. over bridge to SRI entrance and display MRHC name tag/pass.                           Handicapper parking is available in SRI lot.

 

 TOUR OF STEAM RAILROADING INSTITUTE and AFTERGLOW RECEPTION ($12.00 prepaid):

 

  5:30 pm….. Tour of Steam Railroading Institute yard and engine facility.

  6:30 pm….. Afterglow reception in Steam Railroading Institute display building.

  8:00 pm….. End of Conference afterglow reception.

 

*******************************************************************************************

Conference updates and registration forms will be posted at www.MichiganRailroadHistory.org and in the Calendar of Events of www.MichiganRailroads.com .  For more information and registration forms, send to the 9th Michigan Railroad History Conference, P.O. Box 852, Royal Oak, MI 48068-0852 or contact Greg Degowski, MRHC chairperson, at gjdegowski@comcast.net, or at 248-547-4783. Feel free to bring appropriate organization information brochures, etc., to share with other attendees.  A limited number of attendee vendor tables will be available at $10.00 each for railroad history items only.  See website for vendor registration forms.

Announcements, Press Releases

MARP elects a new executive committee at the Annual Meeting in Durand

 

The Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers elected a new executive committee at its annual meeting, September 8, 2007.

The new officers are as follows:
• Mike Whims, Executive Director and Metro Detroit Coordinator;
• John DeLora, Executive Committee Chair;
• Don Monteith, Vice Chair;
• Hugh Gurney, Secretary;
• David Randall, Treasurer;
• Andrew Kent, Northern Region Coordinator;
• John Langdon, Western Region Coordinator;
• Jim Wallington, East/Central region Coordinator;
• Clark Charnetski, At-Large Executive Committee Member;
• Kay Chase, At-Large Executive Committee Member;
• Steve Sobel, At-Large Executive Committee Member;
• Rich Varva-Musser, At-Large Executive Committee Member.

There was only one nomination for each office and the membership in attendance unanimously approved by a show of hands. Each office’s term expires September 2009.

The election results in several shifts from the 2005-2007 term with Whims and DeLora trading offices and Wallington moving from Secretary. Monteith, Varva-Musser, Sobel and Gurney are new to the Executive Committee this term.

Members no longing serving on the Executive Committee are Mike Frezell as Vice Chair, J.R. Valderas as an At-Large Executive Committee Member, Dick Perkarek as East/Central Region Committee Member and Kazuya Fujita as an At-Large Executive Committee Member. Valderas will still be an active member in MARP, volunteering as editor of The Michigan Passenger.

Kent, Langdon, Randall, Charnetski and Chase retain the offices they held during the prior term.

The election was held during the annual meeting held at the Durand Union Station in Durand, Michigan on September 8, 2007. This year’s featured speaker at the annual meeting was Michigan State Representative Hoon-Jung Hopgood who is Chair of the Transportation Committee.

Remarks were given by long-time Durand Union Station advocate Norma Ward and Durand Union Station Director Deborah Canute.

DeLora gave a presentation titled “Amtrak and Advocacy.”

Lunch was catered by GiGi’s Banquets and Catering in Corunna, Michigan.

Announcements, News, Press Releases

Amtrak Adjusts Schedule of Pere Marquette to Accommodate Track Work

Temporary Timings from June 4 to June 21

CHICAGO – Amtrak is temporarily adjusting the westbound schedule for the Pere Marquette service on the Chicago-Grand Rapids route to accommodate track work planned by CSX Transportation, the owner of the train’s route in Michigan. The temporary schedule will begin June 4 and continue through June 21, 2007.

The westbound Pere Marquette (Train 371) will be scheduled to operate one hour earlier from all stations. The eastbound Pere Marquette (Train 370) schedule is unaffected. These changes will compensate for anticipated delays due to the track work.

“While we recognize this temporary schedule change might cause some inconvenience for our passengers, they will eventually benefit from the track improvements with a smoother ride and improved reliability,” said Don Saunders, Amtrak Central Division General Superintendent.

Amtrak Pere Marquette ridership for the fiscal year-to-date (October 2006 through April 2007) was 56,827, an increase of 5.4 percent from the same period a year ago. The train often operates at full capacity, so passengers are reminded of the need to obtain reservations in advance from Amtrak.com, by calling 800-USA-RAIL, using a Quik-Trak(SM) Ticket Express automated ticket machine (including the Grand Rapids, Holland, Saint Joseph and Chicago stations) or through a travel agent.

The plans for this temporary schedule change are correct as of the above date. If these plans are changed, Amtrak will notify passengers who have included personal contact telephone numbers with their reservations.

The Pere Marquette is financed primarily through funds made available by the Michigan Department of Transportation and with the support of Westrain, a grass-roots group representing the communities along the corridor. For more information about Westrain, visit http://www.gvmc.org/transportation/Westrain.shtml.

About Amtrak

Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail services to more than 500 destinations in 46 states on a 21,000-mile route system. For schedules, fares and information, passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com.

Amtrak Pere Marquette Temporary Schedule
Effective June 4-21, 2007

Train 370 – Chicago to Grand Rapids – Eastbound Pere Marquette

Station Daily
Chicago, IL – Union Station 5:20 p.m. CT (Depart)
New Buffalo, MI 7:35 p.m. ET (Depart)
St. Joseph – Benton Harbor, MI 8:03 p.m. ET (Depart)
Bangor, MI (South Haven) 8:39 p.m. ET (Depart)
Holland, MI 9:21 p.m. ET (Depart)
Grand Rapids, MI 10:20 p.m. ET (Arrive)

Train 371 – Grand Rapids to Chicago – Westbound Pere Marquette

Station Daily
Grand Rapids, MI 6:35 a.m. ET (Depart)
Holland, MI 7:21 a.m. ET (Depart)
Bangor, MI (South Haven) 8:02 a.m. ET (Depart)
St. Joseph – Benton Harbor, MI 8:39 a.m. ET (Depart)
New Buffalo, MI 9:06 a.m. ET (Depart)
Chicago, IL – Union Station 9:30 a.m. CT (Arrive)

This press release was provided by Amtrak and is available at www.amtrak.com

Announcements, News, Press Releases

Two Amtrak Wolverine Trains Have New Eastbound Schedules

Departures tie better to Milwaukee and allow earlier travel
CHICAGO – Lake Michigan is less of an impediment to travel between the Milwaukee and Detroit areas, effective with the semi-annual Amtrak schedule change on April 2. That’s because Train 350, the morning Wolverine Service train eastbound from Chicago, has a new schedule allowing for a connection from the first Hiawatha Service train arriving in Chicago from Milwaukee.

Additionally, Train 352, the mid-day Wolverine Service, will depart Chicago during the noon hour to offer more attractive arrivals in Michigan. The new schedules are below.

“The Amtrak Wolverine Service continues to post ridership gains and these changes are aimed to better serve our passengers needs by further improving the schedules and connections,” said Harris M. Cohen, Amtrak Program Manager, Business Initiatives.

In figures for the five months ending Feb. 28, 174,275 passengers rode on the six trains on the Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac corridor, an increase of 5.3 percent from the same period a year earlier. Ticket revenue is up by more than $425,000 and is in excess of $5.9 million for the five months of the current Amtrak fiscal year.

Overall, Amtrak ridership across the 46-state network of trains is also up for the Oct. 2006-Feb. 2007 period. The total of 9,934,410 passengers is an increase of more than four percent from the year-ago figure and includes double-digit increases on several routes.

About Amtrak

Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail service to more than 500 destinations in 46 states on a 21,000-mile route system. For schedules, fares and information, passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com.

Amtrak Wolverine Service
Chicago-Battle Creek-Detroit-Pontiac

Eastbound

 

  350 – Daily 352 – Daily 354 – Daily
depart Chicago 8:30 am 12:15 pm 6:00 pm
Hammond-Whiting, Ind. 8:57 am 12:42 pm  
Michigan City, Ind.   1:19 pm  
Niles, Mich. 11:09 am 2:54 pm 8:41 pm
Dowagiac 11:21 am    
Kalamazoo 12:10 pm 3:45 pm 9:30 pm
Battle Creek 12:40 pm 4:15 pm 10:00 pm
Albion   4:43 pm  
Jackson 1:30 pm 5:07 pm 10:50 pm
Ann Arbor 2:09 pm 5:47 pm 11:30 pm
Greenfield Village* 2:38 pm 6:16 pm  
Dearborn 2:46 pm 6:22 pm 11:59 pm
Detroit 3:15 pm 6:49 pm 12:32 am
Royal Oak 3:36 pm 7:10 pm 12:53 am
Birmingham 3:43 pm 7:17 pm 1:00 am
Pontiac, Mich. 4:08 pm 7:44 pm 1:29 am
Westbound

 

  351 – Daily 353 – Daily 355 – Daily
Pontiac, Mich. 6:40 am 11:05 am 5:10 pm
Birmingham 6:53 am 11:18 am 5:23 pm
Royal Oak 7:00 am 11:25 am 5:30 pm
Detroit 7:23 am 11:46 am 5:53 pm
Dearborn 7:46 am 12:13 pm 6:14 pm
Greenfield Village* 7:49 am 12:16 pm 6:17 pm
Ann Arbor 8:23 am 12:56 pm 6:51 pm
Jackson 8:59 am 1:34 pm 7:27 pm
Albion   1:58 pm 7:49 pm
Battle Creek 9:54 am 2:31 pm 8:22 pm
Kalamazoo 10:24 am 3:01 pm 8:52 pm
Dowagiac   3:29 pm 9:21 pm
Niles, Mich.   3:43 pm 9:34 pm
Michigan City, Ind.     9:11 pm
Hammond-Whiting, Ind.   3:45 p.m 9:47 pm
Chicago 11:59 a.m 4:41 pm 10:38 pm
All times local, Central Time in Illinois and Indiana, Eastern Time in Michigan.
*Greenfield Village stop is only made for group travel.
 

This news release was provided by Amtrak.
Click below for the original:
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1173376437448&ssid=180