From The Windsor Star

With too many factions studying high-speed rail in the Quebec City to Windsor  corridor, MP Brian Masse (NDP – Windsor-West) called on the federal government  Monday to form one working group to fast track rail improvements.

Masse sent a letter to federal Transport Minister Denis Lebel and launched a  “Need for Speed” campaign calling on the government to join with the private  sector and ensure highspeed rail investments become reality.

It should include investments to run a high-speed service through Windsor to  Chicago, he said.

“Significant upgrades to Canada’s rail capacity are long overdue and  impacting our ability to compete in the global economy,” said Masse in his  letter to Lebel. He noted this country remains the only G8 country which has no  high-speed rail networks.

A multitude of studies on high-speed rail often fall by the wayside because  of “sticker shock,” and nothing gets done, Masse said.

He believes a push instead for ‘higher speed’ rail with the goal of lessening  passenger travel time has greater hope to win support as it would require  government investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars and not  billions.

The working group would assess priorities, Masse said.

Lebel’s office did not respond Monday to a request for comment from The Star  on Masse’s letter.

The local MP recently travelled to Lansing to get details on the Obama  administration’s $200-million grant for rail infrastructure in Michigan to  improve passenger rail speed on the Detroit to Chicago connection.

“What I learned is there was great interest to connect to Windsor,” Masse  said.

A new $400-million doublestack Detroit River rail tunnel has been on the  table for years and the project’s environmental assessment is expected to be  completed in fall of 2012.

There are hopes if a new CPbacked Windsor-Detroit freight rail tunnel gets  built, the current tunnel could be converted for passenger trains and create a  Quebec City to Chicago link.

“We are in the process of seeking government funding on both the Canadian and  U.S. side,” said David Cree, CEO of the Windsor Port Authority, a partner in the  rail tunnel project.

“We do need significant funding from both sides to make this work.”

It’s been determined the current Detroit River rail tunnel, which opened in  1910, is structurally sound and can easily be converted for use by passenger  trains for many years to come, he said.

“If you have a new tunnel (for freight) that would release the current tunnel  for passenger rail,” Cree said. “We have put that on the table during all our  discussions (with government officials). You can’t operate passenger and freight  through the same tunnel, so you need that new tunnel.”

In Michigan, the federal funds are being used for $196.5-million track and  rail signal improvements to allow trains to travel 110 mph on a stretch from  Dearborn to Kalamazoo, according to an official with the Michigan Department of  Transportation.

Another $2.8 million will be spent to replace the Ann Arbor station.

Canada’s push for higher speed and Masse’s call for a working group is “an  idea whose time has come,” Cree said, pointing to the federal investment in  Michigan and growing push to get the rail tunnel built.

Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/Masse+steps+high+speed+rail+push/5392480/story.html#ixzz1Y5C5FgR3

Crews are dillegently working on the Norfolk Southern tracks that the Amtrak Wolverine and Blue Water trains use between Dearborn and Kalamazoo and are expected to be finished by the second or third week of September 2011 according to an Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) official.

Over the past year, Norfolk Southern has deferred some maintenance to the track while it negotiates the sale of the railroad to the State of Michigan.

Poor track conditions have slowed train speeds during the past few months. Train speeds of 60 mph will be restored on this segment, in preparation for even higher speeds in years to follow.

“That’s why we had to step forward and stabalize the track regardless of whatever we have going on.” said Tim Hoeffner of MDOT’s rail office, referring to the negotiations.

MDOT and Norfolk Southern entered into a $4.2 million maintenance agreement in early August. The work to be done by Norfolk Southern includes replacing ties, smoothing the track, and improving grade crossings on the 135-mile section. Passengers on Wolverine Trains 350 and 353 are bussed between the Pontiac and Jackson stations as well as all stations in between. See this bulletin for more information.

MARP member Larry Krieg observed the track crews near Ypsilanti and shot and narrated this video of the work being performed:

MARP’s annual meeting was featured in the Battle Creek Enquirer:

After his birth in Chicago, John “Joe” Schwarz was carried home to Battle Creek, where his parents stepped off the train at the old depot off Van Buren Street.

Schwarz remarked on that fact Saturday while standing inside that old depot — now the restaurant Clara’s on the River — just before he was honored by a group of Michigan transit advocates for his long-standing work to improve rail service in the region.

The presentation was made on behalf of the members of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers by the group’s chairman, Robert Tischbein of Utica.

As keynote speaker for the meeting, Schwarz had just told the group about the need for ongoing, aggressive work to safeguard and improve rail service through the area. The plan to present the leadership award had been kept a secret from him, said Kay Chase, the group’s communications coordinator.

Read more: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20110911/NEWS01/109110318/Rail-group-honors-Schwarz-s-untiring-efforts-?odyssey=nav%7Chead