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Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
From M-Live.com:
Passengers using Amtrak’s Wolverine and Blue Water rail services in Michigan will see normal travel times restored by early May, following work on some sections of track that is set to begin mid-April.
In the meantime, Amtrak and the Michigan Department of Transportation jointly announced track work will result in some cancellations and schedule adjustments while Norfolk Southern, which operates the railroad, completes work April 16-19.
The work is to address safety concerns that last month prompted Norfolk Southern to call for slowdowns on some segments of the track.
The effects to passengers, according to the statement, will include the following:
Train 350, the morning eastbound Wolverine from Chicago to Pontiac, will terminate at Kalamazoo. Passengers continuing east of Kalamazoo will be accommodated on a dedicated bus serving Battle Creek and Jackson, where passengers will reboard a train for the remainder of the trip to Dearborn and intermediate stations. Train 351, the morning westbound Wolverine from Pontiac, will terminate at Jackson. Passengers continuing west of Jackson will be provided with dedicated bus service to Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, where they will reboard a train for service to Chicago and intermediate stations. The Kalamazoo departure of the continuation of train 351 will be 90 minutes later, at 11:20 a.m., arriving in Chicago at 12:54 p.m. CT.
The late morning Wolverine 353 from Pontiac to Chicago is cancelled. The early afternoon Wolverine 352 from Chicago to Pontiac is also cancelled. Wolverine trains 354 (Pontiac to Chicago) and Train 355 (Dearborn to Chicago) will continue to operate with delays until the track repairs are completed.
It is unclear what sort of repairs will occur. Last month, unspecified safety concerns prompted the company to lower speeds to 25-30 mph on some segments of its railroad between Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor, where top speeds of 79 mph had been allowed since early February.
Related: • Amtrak passengers heading east from Kalamazoo may take a bus part of the way
The restrictions affected eight of Amtrak’s daily trains in Michigan. At the time, Amtrak and M-DOT called the slowdowns “drastic,” since they added about 90 minutes to an already five-and-a-half hour trip from Chicago to Detroit on the Wolverine line.
There was disagreement at the time over when work would begin. M-DOT and Amtrak said they expected Norfolk Southern to begin repairs in early April, but the company said the speed restrictions would be in place “for the foreseeable future.”
A spokesman for Norfork Southern did not return calls for comment about the current plans to repair segments of track.
Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/amtrak_work_to_relieve_passeng.html
MARP MEMBER MEETING
Saturday, April 21, 2012
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
(Executive Committee meets at 10:00 a.m.)
Historic Michigan Central Depot
125 Jackson Street, Chelsea MI 48118
Map and Driving Directions
The next MARP meeting will take place on Saturday, April 21, at the 1880’s Chelsea Depot in Chelsea, Michigan. The Executive Committee will meet at 10:00 a.m. The General Membership Meeting will begin at 11:00 a.m., with local railroad historian Robert Shannon as speaker. A student of Michigan Central Railroad history, Shannon will brief us on the role that railroad played in the development of Chelsea and the history of the Chelsea Railroad Station.
All are welcome at both the Executive Committee meeting and the General Membership meeting. The Chelsea Depot is located in downtown Chelsea, just south of the railroad tracks and east of Main Street (M-52). Ample free parking is available.
This is an excellent opportunity to visit Chelsea and its vibrant downtown business district and meet members of our host agency, the Chelsea Depot Association.
All are also welcome to join us after the meeting for lunch at Cleary’s Pub, just around the corner at 113 S. Main Street.
We look forward to seeing you in Chelsea!
Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
Upcoming Events at the Purple Rose Theatre
Here are several links to news stories about the new station planned for Dearborn:
From the Dearborn Press and Guide:
Government officials celebrated construction on a new $28 million train station with a commemorative ceremony Tuesday.
Dignitaries from the local, state and federal level rolled into the Greenfield Village’s historic Smith Creek station on an old steam engine train to kick off the event, symbolizing how the project will connect modern rail and with the historical train at the Village. One of the key features of the new station is a pedestrian bridge that will cross over the tracks from the station into Greenfield Village, creating a link to one of Michigan’s biggest tourist attractions and potentially boosting the 1.5 million visitors it sees each year.
The new 16,000 square foot station was touted as a catalyst for economic growth for the densely trafficked area surrounding the build site. With its close proximity to Dearborn’s west downtown business district, the University of Michigan Dearborn, Ford Motor Co. world headquarters and Fairlane Town Center mall, the hope is that it will deliver a whole new group of travelers to the community.
Fully funded by the federal stimulus law of 2009, the facility is geared to getting more people to ride public transportation. It will feature connections to bus lines, taxis and shuttles and is just across Michigan Avenue from the start of the Rouge River Gateway Trail, a scenic greenway running 26 miles through Wayne County.
“We’ve got great plans to expand what we’re doing here now to really generate a whole new opportunity not only to bring people from Michigan back and forth but to draw people from all over the country to come here and be part of what we’re doing,” said Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly.
For more details, click here.
Project officials estimate the station will create 280 construction jobs over its 18-month build phase and then another 25 permanent positions when it’s open for business in fall 2013. Already, work crews are busy moving utilities and excavating the site, which is located on Michigan Avenue at Elm Street, just west of the Southfield Freeway.
Among the officials that gave remarks at the event were U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan), Congressman John Dingell (D-Dearborn), The Henry Ford President Patricia Mooradian, Michigan Department of Transportation Director Kirk Steudel and Amtrak Chairman Tom Carper.
Other initiatives currently underway to improve service on the rail that runs to and from the station include increasing maximum speeds to 110 mph between Dearborn and Kalamazoo on the way to Chicago and, down the line, extending that to Toronto and St. Louis.
“When we celebrate this, let’s pat ourselves on the back and then let’s look each other in the eye and say, ‘by golly we’ve got a little more to do,’” said Dingell.
Read more: http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2012/04/11/news/doc4f858f480403a209497270.txt