From Trains Magazine

Contrary to earlier reports, no high speed rail funds survived in the budget Congress appears poised to pass for the 2011 fiscal year. The six-month deal that passed last Friday night in an effort to prevent a government shutdown cut all remaining funds from the high speed intercity rail program for this year.

The Friday deal included a one-week bill that keeps the government’s doors open while bill-writers ink the six-month deal. The one-week bill carves $1.5 billion from the program immediately, and the six-month bill eliminates the remaining $2.9 billion that President Barack Obama wanted the program to receive this year.

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission says the bill will also rescind $400 million appropriated to the program in 2010. This money remains to be obligated because Florida turned back $2.4 billion in funds earlier this year for its planned Tampa-Orlando route.

Earlier reports indicated $1 billion survived the appropriations process, but it appears those reports were erroneous.

The bill will also cut $80 million from Amtrak’s budget below fiscal year 2010 levels.

Transportation cuts weren’t limited to the rail sector. Under the plan, Congress will rescind $2.5 billion in not-yet-obligated highway funds.

Source: http://trn.trains.com/en/Railroad%20News/News%20Wire/2011/04/Budget%20cuts%20all%202011%

From The Detroit News

Megabus.com will begin offering daily departures from Detroit to Pittsburgh and Toledo for as low as $1 for a one-way ticket beginning May 11.

Pittsburgh will be the intercity express bus firm’s sixth hub and begin daily service to and from nine new cities, including Detroit and Toledo, said Dale Moser, president and chief operating officer of Coach USA, the parent company of megabus.com.

Megabus.com launched in April 2006 and has run a route from Detroit to Chicago that makes a stop in Ann Arbor.

Moser said the popularity of the low-cost curbside service led to the route expansion. Megabus has served more than 9 million travelers in its five-year existence and now offers service to more than 50 cities in North America.

“We’re delighted with the kind of ridership we have to and from Detroit and the growth we’ve seen year on year,” Moser said, declining to give specific figures.

The highest fares for the Detroit to Pittsburgh route were not available. But Moser said rates go up incrementally from the low $1 fares, such as to $5 or $12.

“The top fare in our business has always been more economical than flying, taking a train, driving your car or potentially taking another bus company,” he said.

On Tuesday, Greyhound Bus Lines’ website was charging a discounted $15.84 for its Detroit-Toledo route and $61.60 for its Detroit-Pittsburgh route.

Joseph P. Schwieterman, a transportation professor at DePaul University in Chicago, said the Pittsburgh hub could be a risky strategy for megabus.com. The company must determine if its business model will work in midsize cities that lack large-scale transit systems, he said.

Megabus, though, has attracted pleasure travelers enticed by the low fares and even those who would have never considered riding a bus a few years ago.

“Megabus consistently undercuts Amtrak by up to 50 percent and with air travel it’s not even close,” Schwieterman said. “It’s rare to find a Megabus fare above $40.”

Detroit Megabus stops are at the Rosa Parks Transit Center, 360 Michigan Ave., and the corner of Cass and Warren avenues near Wayne State University.

Source: http://detnews.com/article/20110330/BIZ/103300349

From East Village Magazine

Indian Trails’ motor coach service throughout Michigan and the near Midwest has been expanded to two new locations — Flint’s Bishop International Airport and Union Station Chicago.

Beginning April 4, four daily trips will be made between Flint’s Bishop International Airport and points north (Saginaw, Bay City, Alpena, the Upper Peninsula) and west (Owosso, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, etc.).

Coaches will arrive at Bishop at 10:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. from the west and at 1:30 and 4 p.m. from points north. Coaches depart to points west of Flint at 10:45 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. and to points north at 3 p.m. daily. Coaches will depart and arrive from the MTA bus stop at the east end of the terminal.

“This extension of service expands area access to Bishop International Airport, providing connectivity from rural areas to a major air hub,” says Gordon Mackay, president of Indian Trails. “Using a motor coach to reach the airport also reduces energy consumption and hydrocarbon pollution. It’s a win-win.”

Airlines available at Bishop are Air Tran, American, Continental Connection, Delta and Frontier.

Also beginning April 4, all Indian Trails arrivals to Chicago will offer service to Union Station. Coaches will arrive at Union Station at 2:25, 5:50, 8:35 and 11:15 p.m. (central time) daily, delivering passengers to the east side of Canal Street, 300 feet south of Jackson Boulevard.

Connections will be available to Amtrak service (to Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City, Memphis and New Orleans), to MetraRail commuter trains throughout the Chicago suburban area and to CTA trains to O’Hare and local points within the city. More local service information is available at MetraRail.com and at TransitChicago.com.

Indian Trails Inc. operates one of the largest and newest fleets of deluxe motor coaches in Michigan. Services include charters, tours, shuttles, airport transfers, casino runs and daily scheduled routes throughout Michigan and into Chicago as well as Milwaukee. The Michigan Flyer Motorcoach Service offers seamless connections and affordable service to Detroit Metro Airport from Lansing, Jackson, Ann Arbor and Detroit.

Visit www.indiantrails.com for information.

Source: http://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/news-releases/15815-indian-trails-extends-service-to-bishop-airport.html

From the Owosso Argus-Press

The 1941 Pere Marquette 1225 will receive significant improvements, thanks in part to a transportation grant announced Wednesday by Rep. Ben Glardon, R-Owosso.

The locomotive, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the only surviving large steam locomotive still operating in Michigan, and has become a significant source of tourism dollars for the area, the representative’s office noted.

The project budget is $523,000, according to Glardon’s office. The grant of $346,104 comes from federal transportation enhancement funds. The Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation also is providing $176,896 in matching funds, Glardon’s office reported.

SRI officials previously said they had raised $120,000 in grants and through fundraising activities.

The locomotive was featured in the movie “The Polar Express,” based on the earlier children’s book of the same title.

“Children and adults across Michigan have traveled to Owosso to see the ‘Polar Express,’ and rekindle their belief in the spirit of Christmas,” Glardon said.

The project includes firebox work; boiler shell work; replacement or repair of tubes, flues, and superheaters; replacement or repair of certain safety appliances and accessories; purchase of handicap accessible lifts; and a water treatment system for the facility that houses the engine.

Volunteers at the SRI already have begun disassembling the engine for its 15-year mandated rebuild. The train went out of service at the end of 2009 and work toward the rebuild project has been ongoing since then.

Source: http://www.argus-press.com/business/article_775c5efa-516d-11e0-924d-001cc4c03286.html
(Editors note: follow this link. There are some links at the bottom of the page to more stories about PM 1225)