From the Muskegon Chronicle
Muskegon community leaders and train aficionados are hoping for a “choo-choo” under their Christmas tree.
They gathered this week to contemplate the future of train service in Michigan. With dreams of restoring passenger rail service to Muskegon and even creating a lakeshore tourist route to Mackinaw City, it might take Santa Claus to make such rail expansion a reality.
Amtrak has been a struggling national train system that relies on subsidies at a time federal budget deficits are a critical issue. Currently, the closest service to Muskegon is Amtrak’s Pere Marquette line from Grand Rapids to Chicago, with a stop in Holland.
More than 50 people gathered at the Shoreline Inn and Suites Wednesday to provide a Muskegon perspective for the ongoing Michigan State Rail Plan, which will be completed in June.
Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2010/12/muskegon_residents_are_asking.html