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Amtraks’s Eastbound train 350, the Wolverine, splits the signals at CP Ypsilanti on a dreary April day. The train connects Chicago and Detroit and it saw an increase in ridership of 9 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year. Photo by Steve Sobel.
Amtrak ridership increased in the first half of FY 2013 (Oct. 2012 – March 2013) and March set a record as the single best month ever in the history of the railroad. In addition, October, December, and January each set individual monthly records.
Rebounding strongly from service disruptions caused by Superstorm Sandy and other severe weather, Amtrak ridership grew 0.9 percent in the first six months of FY 2013 as compared to the same period the prior year. In all, 26 of 45 routes posted ridership increases and Amtrak expects to end the fiscal year at or above last year’s record of 31.2 million passengers.
“The continued ridership growth on routes across the country reinforces the need for dedicated, multi-year federal operating and capital funding to support existing intercity passenger rail services and the development of new ones,” said Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman.
Northeast Corridor ridership took a significant hit from Superstorm Sandy, is seeing a solid recovery and is predicted to show gains for the full fiscal year despite being down 1.2 percent for this six-month period. Ridership on state-supported and other short distance routes is up 2.7 percent and long-distance ridership grew 0.5 percent.
Routes with notable ridership growth in the first six months of FY 2013 include: Palmetto (+10.5 percent), Coast Starlight (+10 percent), Illini/Saluki (+9.8 percent), San Joaquin (+8.9 percent), Piedmont (+8.6 percent), Wolverine (+8.2 percent), Vermonter (+6.7 percent), Carolinian (+6.3 percent), Keystone Service (+5.2 percent), Springfield Shuttles (+5.2 percent), Downeaster (+4.8 percent), Pacific Surfliner (+4.3 percent), and Pennsylvanian (+4.3 percent).
The current Amtrak station in East Lansing is slated for replacement.
The Capital Area Transportation Authority will conduct a public open house from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, to invite comment on the redevelopment of the East Lansing Multimodal Station, currently known as the East Lansing Amtrak Station, which is located at 1240 S. Harrison Road in East Lansing.
The station accommodates train and intercity buses, with nearby CATA bus services. The open house will be held at the East Lansing Public Library at 950 Abbot Road, East Lansing, MI, 48823.
The Public Library is served by CATA Route 26 (Abbot-Chandler) during the open house hours. The facility is fully accessible. Please contact CATA Customer Service at (517) 394-1000 for trip-planning assistance.
Requests for reasonable special-needs accommodations must be received by CATA Customer Service no later than Friday, April 12, 2013.
Representatives from CATA will be present at the open house. No formal presentation will be made, allowing the public to interact with CATA staff on a one-to-one basis any time during the open house.
Submit comments in writing by 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 16, 2013, to: jbromberg@cata.org East Lansing Multimodal Station Redevelopment Capital Area Transportation Authority, 4615 Tranter St. Lansing, MI 48910 www.cata.
We hope you enjoy the issue and that you will let us hear your comments and suggestions. If you would like to write a story or suggest an item to be covered, email us at marprail@yahoo.com
We’re trying something different this month. For those without a PDF reader, click on the images below to view them full screen.
Here’s an artist’s depiction of the light rail project. (From the M-1 Light Rail Group.)
With the 3.4-mile Woodward Avenue light rail project expected to break ground this summer, conversation has begun to shift toward how to efficiently extend transit along the corridor beyond Detroit’s city limits.
A handful of community meetings scheduled this month will discuss plans to extend an alternative mode of transportation for the 27-mile route from Detroit to Pontiac, with bus rapid transit (BRT) as the leading option.
The main goal of the project is to “provide high level, fast transit service that would compete with the automobile” from Pontiac to Detroit’s riverfront and vice versa, said Carmine Palombo, director of transportation planning for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
SEMCOG is coordinating with the M-1 Rail group and the Woodward Avenue Action Association, the group behind the Woodward Avenue Complete Streets project, a plan that involves planning for safe, attractive and comfortable access to roadways for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians along the same route.
SEMCOG and a steering committee representing M-1 stakeholders planned five meetings as part of the Woodward Avenue Rapid Transit Alternative Analysis, which for the past eight months has examined a multitude of transit options along the corridor. Palombo said that over time, SEMCOG and the committee had eliminated every option besides BRT.
The five meetings will take place in study area cities:
• April 17, 6:30-8 p.m. (Detroit from McNichols to Eight Mile Road, Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge) – St. James Catholic Church, 241 W. Pearson St., Ferndale
• April 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (Detroit and Highland Park) – Detroit Public Library, Main Branch, 5201 Woodward Ave., Detroit
• April 25, 5:30-7:30 p.m., (Pleasant Ridge, Huntington Woods, Berkley and Royal Oak) – Berkley Community Center, 2400 Robina Ave., Berkley
• April 27, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Detroit and Highland Park) – Detroit Public Library, Main Branch, 5201 Woodward Ave., Detroit
• April 30, 6-8 p.m. (Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township and Pontiac) – Manresa Jesuit Retreat House, 1390 Quarton Road, Bloomfield Hills
At the meetings, scheduled for April 17-30, the public will learn why BRT has become the preferred option. Displays will be on hand to show how BRT functions in cities across the world including in Portland, Ore.; Seattle; Cleveland; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Brisbane, Australia.
SEMCOG is managing the $2 million that the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded last summer to fund the Woodward Avenue Rapid Transit AA, according to Palombo.
The purpose of the meetings is to focus on BRT, get residents’ input on what they want to see in the system and how the system will function with bike and pedestrian travel, Palombo said.
After a preferred option is found, an environmental clearance would follow, which Palombo hopes will be completed by early 2014.
The eventual cost of the project is too early to determine, Palombo said.
He noted a variety of factors that will determine the ultimate cost, including: alignment, frequency of service, buses that are selected, and the size of the improvements made to the already existing bus network.
“You can’t just recommend what’s going to happen on Woodward without recommending how everything else is going to connect to it,” Palombo said, adding that routes from other regional transit services feeding into Woodward would most likely have to be increased.
SEMCOG also is providing temporary staff for administrative work to the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), which is set to meet for the first time April 10.
“Initial work of the RTA is primarily administrative, [to] get themselves established, get themselves formed, do administrative tasks that allow them to receive federal and state funding,” Palombo said.
The Woodward Avenue Rapid Transit AA bus rapid transit project will be the initial artery in a regionwide BRT system, first announced in late 2011.
“We are working with the RTA, bringing them up to speed with this project because at some point they will assume responsibility for moving it forward,” Palombo said. “This is not outside of that, it will be a part of that entire system.”
The originally proposed project included 23 stops that would operate much like a rail line, using specialized, train-like buses with dedicated lanes. The plan called for buses running along Gratiot, Woodward and Michigan avenues as well as M-59, and would connect to Ann Arbor and Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus.
At the time, it was estimated the 110-mile rapid-transit regional bus system would cost $500 million.
U.S. Department of Transportation SecretaryRay LaHood promised M-1 Rail a $25 million federal grant last summer if the group satisfied his concerns about how it would be funded and operated in the long term, and if the state approved a RTA for metro Detroit.
LaHood delivered on that promise in January during an announcement at Wayne State University and said the U.S. Department of Transportation would commit $25 million to M-1.
LaHood also awarded a $6.5 million grant to the RTA’s bus rapid transit project for planning funds from the federal transit authority.
One of Michigan’s finest historic stations will be the site of the April 20 MARP meeting in Niles MI. On the agenda is Rodney Pena, Amtrak Deputy Division Engineer, who will talk about ROW and track engineering on the Amtrak- and MDOT-owned trackage in Michigan. With the recent purchase of Norfolk Southern property, the majority of the Wolverine route in Michigan is controlled by either Amtrak or MDOT. Amtrak has a maintenance facility east of the passenger station in Niles.
If you live along the Wolverine route, we hope you will join those who are taking the train to the meeting, something we can seldom do because of unaccommodating schedules. And remember, the train flies at 110 mph between Kalamazoo and Niles!
Because Wolverine Train #351 is an express train and doesn’t usually stop in Niles, you will have to buy a ticket to Chicago. HOWEVER, THE TRAIN WILL MAKE A SPECIAL STOP IN NILES TO DISCHARGE MARP MEMBERS, arriving at approximately 10:13 am. Eastbound Train #352 departs Niles at 3:33 pm.
Visit www.Amtrak.com to take advantage of several special offers:
Buy one regular adult ticket and get a second at 42% off
After selecting your itinerary, choose Senior, NARP, Veteran, AAA Adult, or Student Advantage to get 10% off
If you are a Guest Rewards member, get double points
We will have lunch following the meeting at the Nuggett Downtown Grill , which is 0.7 mile from the station. If necessary, we will arrange for Dial-A-Ride transportation ($3 each way).
If you plan to attend, please reply to this email with this information:
I plan to take Train #351
I will be driving to Niles (in my own car or with someone else)
I can walk the 0.7 mile to and from the restaurant.
I will need transportation to get to and from the restaurant.
Thinking ahead, please MARK YOUR CALENDARS and make plans now for a special August 9-11 weekend event for MARP members aboard the historic train car ferry S.S. City of Milwaukeemoored in Manistee. Watch for details in the Spring issue of The Michigan Passenger and in the online bulletin ON TRACK.
We look forward to seeing you Niles!
Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
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