From the Detroit Free Press
Officials say a sixth-grade student has been struck and killed by a train in Imlay City while walking to school.
WNEM-TV and The Flint Journal report the collision happened about 7 a.m. Thursday. Police say a crossing gate was down and warning lights were flashing.
Executive Committee Meeting
Non-executive Committee members may stay and observe.
Timekeeper- Steve Sobel
10:00 Call to Order & circulate sign-in
10:00 Secretary’s Report – Hugh Gurney
10:10 Treasurer’s Report – Dave Randall
Coordinator Reports
10:20 Government affairs – John Langdon
10:30 Communications – Kay Chase
Website – Larry Sobczak
Newsletter – JR Valderez
Outreach – upcoming events handout
10:35 Membership -Kathleen Newell
10:40 Meetings – Jim Wallington
Regional Chapter Reports
10:45 Northern Region – Don Montieth
10:50 Metro Detroit Region – Jim Hinkins
10:55 Western Region – John Langdon (acting chair)
General Membership Meeting
Speaker (orders of the day)
11:00– 11:15 Eli Cooper of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority
11:15- 11:20 Presentation Questions and Answers
Old Business
11:20 purchase of a digital projector for MARP Meetings
New Business
11:25 Indian Trails Committee Update – Jim Wallington
11:30 Motion by Gurney to request Amtrak to list thruway connections
11:35 Motion by Gurney to resurrect REC Committee
11:30 Report – Durand Station damage – Jim Wallington or Norma Ward
11:35 (open)
12:00-1:00 Jennifer Redfern, South Lyon Area Historical Society – remarks on the railroad history of South Lyon and the Witch’s Hat Depot & Museum, followed by a tour of the museum, caboose and other buildings
1:00 Lunch at South Lyon Hotel
The Witch’s Hat Depot and Historic Village is just off Lafayette Street (Pontiac Trail) in South Lyon. MARP will meet in the Freight House. Jennifer Redfern, a member of the Board of Directors of the South Lyon Area Historical Society will be on hand to tell us about the railroad history of South Lyon and the Witch’s Hat Depot & Museum, followed by a tour of the museum, caboose and other buildings as time permits. Our usual “no-host” lunch will follow at the historic South Lyon Hotel, where railroad passengers dined in days gone by.
Remember that all are welcome and encouraged to attend the Executive Committee meeting that begins promptly at 10:00 am. The general membership meeting will convene at 11:00 am with a short report on the new Ann Arbor Transportation Center by Eli Cooper, Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. Other agenda items include: recent FRA funding to continue development of the Chicago-Detroit high-speed corridor; a report on talks with Indian Trails concerning through-way connections; and the recent damage suffered by the Durand station when the sprinkler system sprung a serious break.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn today announced a partnership between the University of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Transportation and a special advisory group to study the feasibility of 220-mph passenger rail service between Chicago, Champaign-Urbana and beyond. The study will complement the ongoing construction of a regional 110-mph network that will connect Chicago to 40 cities in the Midwest, while supporting Governor Quinn‘s vision to create jobs, enhance regional mobility and improve the environment by expanding passenger rail in Illinois.
“Illinois is leading the nation with our work to expand high-speed and passenger rail,” said Governor Quinn. “This study will provide greater insight into how we can make 220-mph rail service a reality. An expanded and improved rail network will boost our position in the global economy and create thousands of jobs.”
The study will explore the potential costs and benefits of establishing 220-mph service between O’Hare International Airport, downtown Chicago, McCormick Place, and Champaign-Urbana. It will also look at extending the corridor in the region to cities south of Champaign-Urbana, including St. Louis and Indianapolis.
Leading the study will be University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professor Christopher P.L. Barkan, director of the school’s railroad engineering program and one of the nation’s top rail scholars. Contributing will be University of Illinois at Chicago Urban Transportation Center director Stephen Schlickman, former executive director of the Regional Transportation Authority. Their findings, made possible through a $1.25 million contribution from the Illinois Jobs Now! capital program, is expected to be complete and presented to Governor Quinn in late 2012.
“I’m delighted that the University of Illinois can lend its vast expertise to this crucial study, and I’m grateful to the governor and other leaders in the state for their support of this important work,” said University of Illinois President Michael Hogan. “High-speed rail is transformational in its effect on economic development, personal mobility and on our society, in general. It’s an idea that is well worth a hard look. The benefits to the University of Illinois alone cannot be overstated.”
In addition to offering corridor location recommendations, the study will offer estimated ridership projections, economic impacts, construction costs and financing options. Assisting in the effort will be an advisory group composed of transportation experts, rail advocates, labor leaders, and regional planners who will provide input during the course of the study.
The members of the special advisory group include:
Governor Quinn and IDOT broke ground last year on the state’s signature high-speed line between Chicago and St. Louis. Speeds of 110-mph along parts of the corridor will be reached as early as next year. A completed Midwest network will create over 57,000 jobs, including 24,000 in Illinois. In addition to Chicago-St. Louis, the Obama Administration has provided funding for the Chicago to Iowa City via the Quad Cities and Chicago to Detroit corridors. Last month, the U.S. Department of Transportation also awarded additional funding to expand the Midwest’s new equipment fleet with modern, domestically-built locomotives and railcars.
From the Chicago Sun-Times
An Amtrak train locomotive collided with a Metra commuter train Friday morning, sending a dozen people to area hospitals and snarling train travel through the evening rush hour.
Federal Railroad Administration officials were studying the tracks, signals and switches where the slow-moving trains collided, at a bend in the tracks in an underground tunnel near Chicago’s Union Station.
None of the 12 people seeking medical attention, including the Amtrak train’s engineer and a pregnant Metra rider, had life-threatening injuries, according to Marc Levison, the Chicago Fire Department’s assistant deputy fire commissioner for EMS.
Chicago fire department officials credited train passengers — about 1,500 on the Metra train and 117 on the Amtrak southbound for Carbondale — with a calm and orderly evacuation in the dark tunnel.
“The passengers who self-evacuated did a tremendous job,” Levison said. Passengers and firefighters and paramedics traversed over train tracks and large rocks in the tunnel partially lit by ambient light. Fire crews put down a fiber-optic rope to help show the way.
Those aboard the trains reported feeling a sharp jolt, then a series of bumps. Teleshia McClendon, aboard the Metra train, said she felt her car tip to the side. Looking behind her, one car “was caved in. There was a big hole.”
“We thought it was a terrorist attack,” she said.
Amtrak also was inspecting the tracks to determine what caused the collision, according to spokesman Derrick James, who would not say whether human error or a switching problem might have been a factor. Amtrak oversees switching at the West Loop train depot.
The collision at 8:15 a.m. initially backed up trains due into Union Station, said Metra spokesman Tom Miller said. Metra officials hoped train travel would resume normally in time for the evening rush hour, but the investigation into the incident led to delays into the evening.