From The Grand Vision

There was something of a Grand Vision twist to last night’s Michigan By Rail Forum at the Civic Center.

Roughly 130 people attended and they certainly did not sit around listening to a series of experts talk about rail. Instead, everyone broke off into groups around large sized Michigan maps. And with a variety of stickers, they got to point out where their hometowns were and where they felt are special places in the State they would like to travel to. Then with rulers and pencils they drew out where they felt the rail lines should go.

Read more:
http://www.thegrandvision.org/2010/07/23/michigan-by-rail-forum/

From the Great Lakes Bulletin News Service

 The automobile drove Michigan’s economy for most of the last century. That singular emphasis on cars, though, left the Auto State with a transportation system ill equipped for the 21^st century.

Crumbling highways and bridges, their stubbornly high maintenance costs, and chronic traffic congestion signal that, when it comes to transportation, Michigan’s model no longer works.

Michigan is hardly alone, but some other states with similar problems have taken a different approach to solving the problem. Many have turned to passenger rail to help them tame traffic, congestion, and clean air problems, spur economic and jobs growth, curb oil dependence, and give people more choices for getting around.

Rail is by no means a new solution in Michigan. In the 1920s, the state had over 10,000 miles of track carrying both freight and passengers; today, it has just 3,600 miles, with passengers riding on just 500 miles of it.

Read more:
http://www.mlui.org/growthmanagement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=17433

From the Lansing State Journal

Plans to redevelop the East Lansing Amtrak station are chugging along as the city continues to seek project funding.

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved $2.5 million in federal funds to construct a new multi-modal transit center at the site of the train station at 1240 S. Harrison Road.

The 35-year-old station also serves as a bus stop for Greyhound Lines Inc. and Indian Trails Inc. The Capital Area Transportation Authority has a nearby stop on Harrison Road.

The $2.5 million appropriation for East Lansing was the largest of 10 transportation and housing projects in Michigan that received committee approval. Others included $2 million for a commuter rail between Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Read more:
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100728/NEWS03/7280342/East-Lansing-train-station-in-line-for-federal-renovation-money

From Trains magazine

WASHINGTON – Amtrak President Joseph Boardman fielded reporters questions today about the 130-car, $298.1 million order the company announced Friday for 25 sleeping cars, 25 baggage-dormitory cars, 55 baggage cars and 25 diners. The winning bidder for the single level equipment, which will replace Heritage cars whose original manufacture dates to 1948, is CAF USA, a North American subsidiary of the Spanish company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles.

Boardman noted that in addition to having the low bid, CAF’s decision to manufacture both the cars and stainless steel shells at its transit plant in Elmira, N.Y., played a key role in winning the contract over Alstom, USA, which was the only other qualified bidder (an Alstom factory, where Amtrak’s 1995-built 50 Viewliner sleepers were assembled, is located in nearby Hornell, N.Y.) CAF is currently completing orders for 192 5000-series heavy rail transit cars for Washington Metro’s subway system, and has built or is building light rail vehicles for systems in Pittsburgh, Sacramento and Houston.

Although the new single-level cars will be built to specifications based on the existing Viewliner sleepers and Amtrak-designed prototype diner 8400 under renovation at the company’s Beech Grove, Ind., back shop near Indianapolis, Boardman said the new cars would not look exactly the same. “The specification gives the builder the flexibility for enhancements and upgrades, but we did not require the cars to have the same shape,” he said. Reportedly, one of the differences will be that individual toilet facilities in each roomette will be replaced by separate bathrooms “down the hall,” as is currently the case on bi-level Superliner cars.

He defended the purchase of the baggage dorms as freeing up revenue space in sleeping cars now currently occupied by on-board service employees, noting that such cars were inherited from host railroads but had been retired as they became more expensive to repair. Chris Jagodzinski, general manager of operations, estimated that the cars would free up from 6 to 10 Viewliner rooms on every train that are now used to house the crew. In fact, the cars will also replace full baggage cars on many overnight trains so will not necessarily add to a consist’s length. Addition of the new baggage cars means that Amtrak will have the flexibility of adding checked baggage capability to 110-mph trains because the current aging fleet of baggage cars and heritage diners is limited to 90-mph.

In response to a question from Trains magazine columnist Fred Frailey, Boardman said that Congress has given Amtrak a “positive response” to the company’s fleet plan proposal, which includes the immediate purchase of 70 electric locomotives to replace 30 year-old AEM-7 electrics, but he admitted that an exact appropriation amount has not been determined. “We have specifically asked for funding (of the cars and locomotives) and increasing ridership and revenues support our request, but we think a combination of appropriations and loans is the likely means of financing,” Boardman said. The first year of the single-level car contract is being paid for with $29.8 million from Amtrak’s current revenues. He noted that the company’s share of the Rail/Air market has risen to 65 per cent between New York and Washington, and 52 per cent between New York and Boston.

Left unsaid was whether the new cars will be called Viewliners or given some other fleet name. According to some insiders, that decision is yet to be made. – Bob Johnston

From the Traverse City Record-Eagle

Some like the idea of a better train system

Emery Gyr loves to take trains from place to place, and saw much of the country by doing so.

Gyr, of Traverse City, attended Thursday’s rail forum at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center, part of the regional planning Grand Vision project.

More than 100 area residents packed into the meeting to talk about what they want to see happen with freight and passenger rail service.

The crowd broke into groups and gathered around state maps to lay out their ideas for Michigan’s railways.

“It’s energy efficient in comparison to car travel. It’s very easy and makes sense for people on business or students because they can get work done rather than driving,” Gyr said.

Susan Cooper, of Traverse City, spoke during the forum about the importance of linking Traverse City to the Detroit Metro Airport, where many domestic and international flights depart and arrive. She also said her group believes the state should investigate building monorails down the middle of existing interstates and divided highways.

“We already own the right-of-ways,” Cooper said.

It would be far more convenient for locals who take trains, should passenger service be restored to Traverse City, said Jim Sluyter, of Traverse City.

“We travel by rail some and the only way to catch the train is to drive to Kalamazoo, Battle Creek or Grand Rapids,” he said.

Sluyter also wants to see passenger rail service expanded in Michigan because it would help reduce the population’s carbon footprint, he said.

Karen Pontius, of Traverse City, owns a spice business, Suttons Bay Trading Company. She said her interest in local rail lines is not only for passenger convenience, but also for business. Much of her inventory arrives by truck, a method with variable costs.

“I think it would be nice to have this opportunity with gas prices going up,” Pontius said.

But expanding Michigan’s railway infrastructure won’t be easy and conceivably could cost billions, said Kirk Steudle, Michigan Department of Transportation director.

“But that shouldn’t deter us from saying, ‘This is what we want,'” he said.

Michigan is developing a new state rail plan and will host similar forums across the state in coming months, Steudle said.

Visit http://www.thegrandvision.org for more information.

Article source:
http://record-eagle.com/local/x241877117/Citizens-officials-discuss-rail-service