From the Dearborn Press & Guide:

Amtrak passengers have to wait just a few more days before taking advantage of the new station’s amenities. It is scheduled to open Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014.

The first train will roll into the new station, 21201 Michigan Ave. at 6:51 a.m.

Amtrak is moving all of its operations from the current train station behind the Dearborn Police Station to the new 16,000-square-foot Dingell Transit Center.

City leaders say the transit center promotes intermodal transportation, connecting travelers via train, bus, taxi and pedestrian and bike paths to work, education, cultural attractions, shopping and recreation in Dearborn and beyond.

The station is an important component in initiatives to boost commuter rail from Ann Arbor to Detroit and accelerated speed rail from Pontiac to Chicago.

Six Amtrak trains will stop daily at Dingell Transit Center, with increased Amtrak service and the addition of commuter rail expected in the coming years.

Almost 80,000 passengers used the current Amtrak station during the 2014 fiscal year.

In fact, Dearborn is the most popular Amtrak location in the Detroit metropolitan area, according to Marc Magliari, spokesman for Amtrak.

He expects that number to grow.

“Dearborn is excited to be part of the future of rail. We will continue to work with our partners to increase convenient travel that starts in Dearborn and takes riders throughout southeast Michigan, as well as between Dearborn and Chicago,” said Mayor Jack O’Reilly.

“We’re anticipating bringing more customers to our Dearborn businesses and more visitors to our cultural and entertainment venues,” O’Reilly said. “And in the near future, people are going to find it very easy to get on a train in Dearborn and connect with the new M1-Rail in Detroit for an evening out or to go to a game.”

Magliari said Amtrak is planning to expand in the future, adding to the six lines already running from Dearborn.

Right now, he said the most popular trips from Michigan are to Chicago and sites in western Michigan.

The transit center was funded entirely with $28.2 million from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The city of Dearborn owns the station and the seven-acre site, while Amtrak will run the facility.

Residents hoping to get a look inside the new facility are welcome to attend an open house scheduled for Dec. 15.

The open house takes place from 4-6 p.m. at the transit center, which sits near Brady Street and marks the entrance to the west downtown business district.

During the open house, visitors can tour the station, see informative displays and talk with people knowledgeable about the future of train travel. A mural created by Dearborn students will also be featured.

Congressman John Dingell (D-MI) and his wife, Debbie are expected to be at the open house.

In addition, people attending the open house can enter a free drawing to win tickets to The Henry Ford’s popular Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village.

The Henry Ford has historic displays inside the center, including an iconic Davenport train engine.

The transit center also features a pedestrian bridge over the tracks that will allow travelers to access a new entrance to The Henry Ford complex, including the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, the IMAX Theater, and Ford Rouge Factory Tours.

About 1.6 million people a year visit The Henry Ford.

Ford Motor Company expects to showcase a new F-150 on site, as well.

The transit center has received a silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s

Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design. The building features a metal roof with solar collectors, energy efficient lighting and geothermal heating and cooling.

Source: http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2014/12/05/news/doc5481b8177aefd896121105.txt?viewmode=fullstory

From M-live.com, The Kalamazoo Gazette:

They are almost always avoidable.

But whether because of impatience or negligence, vehicles and trains crashed about once a week in Michigan last year. There were 58 vehicle-train accidents in the state in 2013, including five in Kalamazoo County. That’s up 35 percent from the 38 car-train crashes statewide in 2012 and the most since the 61 recorded in 2007, according to data from the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.

And while the majority of the crashes didn’t cause injuries, they sometimes turn fatal. On Tuesday, three people were killed when a passenger train struck a minivan on 11th Street near KL Avenue, just west of the city of Kalamazoo. Police say 20-year-old Joshua Cartwright drove around vehicles that were stopped by train crossing signals and was struck broadside by an eastbound Amtrak train.

All three of the van’s occupants — Cartwright, 20-year-old Ashley Melson and 19-year-old Justin Mastin — were pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation revealed that railroad crossing lights, gates and bells were functioning at the time of the crash.

“Unfortunately, it’s all too common,” Marc Magliari, spokesman for Amtrak, said of the cause. “It happens every two to three hours across the country,” he said of car-train crashes.

Michigan State Police Lt. Dale Hinz said police don’t receive reports of motorists driving around train crossing arms very often.

“It doesn’t happen terribly often, thankfully. Because it’s a terrible idea,” said Hinz, commander of MSP’s Paw Paw Post.

According to statistics from the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, from 2007 through 2013 there were 55 car-train crashes in Kalamazoo, Allegan, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties in Southwest Michigan. Of those, 34 resulted in no injuries, 17 involved injuries and four were fatal.

Accident reports show that many of those crashes were caused by motorists disregarding traffic signals, driving around crossing arms or claiming they didn’t hear bells and whistles.

“It’s almost always the driver’s fault,” Hinz said. “The train is confined to the tracks. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.”

Said Magliari: “Trains rarely can stop in time. Whether it’s going 50, 90 or 110 miles per hour, it’s simply not possible in the law of physics for the train to stop.”

In Tuesday’s crash, the Amtrak train was going about 80 mph and didn’t come to a complete stop until about a mile after striking the van, police said.

Recent fatal crashes in Southwest Michigan are tragic examples of what can happen when drivers aren’t careful near train tracks.

On Sept. 15, 2011, Austin Porter, 21, was killed in a collision with a freight train near Schoolcraft. According to Kalamazoo Gazette archives, investigators said Porter was driving west on U Avenue and failed to yield to a northbound Grand Elk Railroad freight train.

Police said they believed Porter attempted to drive around the lowered crossing arms, realized the train was coming, struck one of the crossing arms as he tried to continue over the track and was unable to make it across before the train hit his Chevrolet Impala.

This came two days after 19-year-old Zachariah Zellmer was killed when, according to police, he drove his 1997 Pontiac Sunfire around crossing arms on 52nd Avenue near County Road 687 in Van Buren County’s Hartford Township and was struck by an Amtrak train. The train’s bells, lights and whistles were all working and the crossing had working lights and control arms, authorities said.

On Sept. 14, 2008, Aubrey Noble, 25, was westbound on McGillen Street in Mattawan when she drove into the path of a westbound Amtrak engine. The train struck Noble’s vehicle, breaking it apart, according to the crash report.

As for Tuesday’s crash, Hinz said investigators are awaiting toxicology results and continuing to interview witnesses to corroborate their statements. Amtrak provided a video recording of the crash that police are reviewing, he said.

Magliari said Amtrak is committed to reducing the number of car-train crashes, working with police agencies to make sure laws are enforced and providing educational materials to motorists about railroad crossing safety.

From M-1 Rail:

M-1 RAIL announced it has selected a vendor and will begin negotiations for the design and build of the individual streetcars, which will run along the Woodward Avenue route beginning in 2016.  The value of the contract is expected to be approximately $30 million for six separate custom coaches that will feature both regulatory compliance and customer comfort.

“M-1 RAIL will negotiate the final terms and conditions with Inekon Group to build our streetcars,” said Paul Childs, chief operating officer of M-1 RAIL.   “Inekon has a strong track record with other streetcar projects in Portland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., and owns a 40-percent share of U.S.-installed projects.  While Inekon is headquartered in the Czech Republic, our requirements specify that it will be compliant with the U.S. Government’s “Buy America” initiative.”

Childs said that the Buy America provisions ensure that U.S.-based transportation infrastructure projects are built with American-made products.  “We want to assure that materials, parts, labor, manufacturing processes, and final assembly will meet the Buy America requirements.”   Childs said that the M-1 team will announce a final assembly location in the future, but added that several locations in Southeast Michigan are under consideration.  “It’s too early to talk about any sourcing or potential manufacturing locations, but we are committed to the principles of Buy America’s support of U.S.-based suppliers and the families who work for them.”

M-1 RAIL’s streetcars also will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), allowing for station-level access for pedestrians, and persons who use mobility assist devices such as wheelchairs.  Vertical bicycle racks will be included in the design to accommodate Detroit’s burgeoning bicycle community, as well as wireless access for busy passengers, and HVAC systems to facilitate the swings in Michigan’s weather.

Each streetcar will be 73 feet long, 8.5 feet wide and 13 feet high, with a vehicle weight of approximately 76,000 pounds.  The cars will be operator-driven, with a double-ended, double-sided configuration.  They will be powered by lithium-ion battery packs, enabling the entire line to run “60 percent off-wire,” said Childs.  “Other streetcar projects utilize overhead wiring for everything from vehicle propulsion to the infrastructure of their maintenance and repair sites. M-1 RAIL will minimize its impact on the aesthetics of Detroit’s iconic Woodward Avenue, and we also will not have the labyrinth of wires overhead at the Penske Technical Center,” he said.  The ‘off-wire’ technology also enhances safety and enables faster maintenance and repair due to safe, but simpler, procedures for technicians.

Other design-build aspects include:  regenerative braking that adds to the efficiency of the line; ability to travel in the same lane at the same speed as bus and vehicle traffic; 100% low-floor, eliminating multi-level trip hazards on-board; and doors in three locations on each car to efficiently manage access and egress.

Childs said the negotiations with Inekon, coming on the heels of the recently-announced contract for the Penske Technical Center, will complete the design, engineering and construction requirements for the M-1 RAIL project.  “Among our next significant activities will be to develop requirements and solicit proposals for the system operator, which will eventually run the entire line.”

Childs said the final design of the streetcars, as well as future contracts with U.S-based or Michigan suppliers will be announced later as the project proceeds.  M-1 RAIL expects to be operational in 2016.

“Among our next significant activities will be to develop requirements and solicit proposals for the system operator, which will eventually run the entire line,” Childs said.

Source: http://m-1rail.com/m-1-rail-announces-vendor-streetcar-build/