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The new Amtrak Station in East Lansing .(Photo: Dave Wasinger/Lansing State Journal)
The new Amtrak station near Harrison and Trowbridge roads will be complete this summer (2015).
The station, which is part of the new $6.3 million Capital Area Multimodal Gateway, will be three times larger than the existing station on the property. It will have an enclosed lobby with floor-to-ceiling windows as well as luggage and bike storage, said Laurie Robison, spokeswoman of Capital Area Transportation Authority, which operates the station.
There is no set date for completion of the station. Construction crews just have to finish mechanical and electrical work before final inspections can begin, Robison said.
Once the station is ready to open, CATA will demolish the smaller station – something customers have been waiting for.
“It’s absolutely needed,” said Gerald Lee, of Lansing. “This station is very small and a lot of Michigan State University students use it when they move in. I can’t wait.”
Lee was waiting for a Greyhound bus to Buffalo, N.Y., to meet with his six sisters for a small family reunion. Lee said he uses the bus service at the station three times a year, but would likely travel more often when the new passenger station opens.
Renovations include adding four canopied bus bays, 150 parking spaces with a payment kiosk and an overflow area for taxis and buses. When the project is fully complete this fall, the station will serve as a transit hub for Amtrak trains as well as bus service from Greyhound, Megabus and Indian Trails.
Jonathan Keith, a cab driver for M-Cab, is relieved there will be spaces for taxis. In the cramped parking lot only made smaller by construction, Keith said he’s had to wait 15 minutes to exit onto Harrison Road with a van full of passengers.
“It’s a pain,” Keith said. “Buses just park on the road because they can’t navigate through the parking lot. This is long overdue. I’m glad CATA stepped up to it.”
Work began on the property in August 2014 when the former Michigan State University Surplus Store and Printing Services buildings were torn down. MSU owns the site and leases it to CATA.
The project is funded by a $6.3 million grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
ACR passenger rail service officially ceases Wednesday, July 15, 2015.
It’s the second time this year that passenger train service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst, Ontario has been threatened to come to a screeching halt.
Last week’s announcement that Railmark had not been able to meet the precondition of securing a line of credit for the operation and would not be running the passenger rail service after July 15 means it’s back to the drawing board for the stakeholder working committee in search of a new third-party operator.
Economic Development Corp. CEO Tom Dodds said late Tuesday that the train will stop on Wednesday.
In the meantime, Mayor Christian Provenzano, and Dodds, in his position as chair of the stakeholder working group, are both penning letters to CN Railway, requesting that they consider operating the service on an interim basis until a new operator is found.
“We know CN doesn’t want to run a passenger service but we’re trying to thread something together that will see the operation of the train for a period of time while we can work together and find an operator,” Dodds said.
CN Rail could be the recipient of the federal government subsidy provided to operate the train.
“We appreciate that they don’t want to run the train full time. That’s why we began this process but unfortunately, it didn’t net us the result we were looking for,” Dodds said.
CN Rail was ultimately responsible for choosing the third-party rail operator.
It was the city who chose not to sign a contractual agreement with Railmark because it failed to meet a precondition of securing a line of credit of about $550,000 – or three months of operational costs.
Dodds said that work is being done to rework the expression of interest and request for proposals into one document in an attempt to get interested parties to submit a proposal and business plan.
“We’re hopeful that we can drive to a quicker solution because we’ve been done this already,” he said.
Of the original 20 or so expression of interests that were initially received, four serious applications were received.
Of those, one proponent revealed he didn’t have the experience required and withdrew.
Eventually, Railmark had been selected.
Dodds said media reports about the situation have created a renewed interest in the route again.
The reinstatement of the federal government funding also offers more hope that another viable proposal will come forward, he said.
“The reality is we need someone who can pick up and run that train Thursday, but I have no sense right now if that is possible or not,” he said. “CN has been given the information and they need to make their decisions internally.”
The ideal candidate would be a current Canadian operator who already has the licencing and insurance requirements needed to run the service.
Also needed is enough trained rail crews to ensure that standards are met and relief engineers are available to meet the ‘go slow’ orders on the track.
Familiarization of the line also becomes an asset with those orders.
But Dodds said all options will be explored.
Sault MP Bryan Hayes said he hasn’t been officially asked to do anything at this time but has been involved in the process since the beginning and will continue to serve as an intermediary between the working group and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt.
“The stakeholder group is going to continue to work with Transport Canada officials to develop a solution,”Hayes said.
“I have been assured by Minister Raitt that the money is still there but we want to find a qualified operator. It’s unfortunate that things didn’t pull through with Railmark.”
Hayes said if a new operator is found, the same due diligence process will have to be undertaken by the federal government, ensuring that a viable business plan is in place.
“Whoever comes forward still has to have a business plan that makes sense to the federal government. We want long term sustainability without ongoing requirements of federal funding down the road,” he said.
Hayes said he will support the city and the stakeholder group and do what he can to assist from the federal government perspective.
He too expressed hope that CN considers running the train service in the interim.
“They have expressed that they are not interested in the passenger service. . . They continue to be supportive of a third party operator but I hope in the interim, they step up because if they don’t, it will shut down until we find a third party operator,” he said.
Railmark provided the passenger train service since May 1 without any government subsidy because the agreement had never been signed.
Dodds said that to his knowledge, there has been no request or action from Railmark to receive funding.
“I don’t know of his intent but there was no agreement in place and there never was,” Dodds said.
SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO – Al Errington is simply steamed that passenger train service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst will cease July 15.
“We need somebody with the financial resources and the personnel resources to operate that passenger train well,” said a “very aggravated” Errington, Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains (CAPT) co-chair and owner of Wilderness Island Resort, responding to CN Rail’s announcement that the termination stemmed from the inability of the train’s current operator, Railmark Canada Ltd., to obtain financing.
Errington has been a vocal critic of the Michigan-based outfit, questioning everything from past practices to staffing levels, pointing to a lack of engineers or crew numbers certified to run the train, forcing operations to stop after the maximum 12-hour, working-day limit is reached.
“Railmark has been a disappointment since they started operating,” he said.
CN officially discontinued its operation of the passenger train on May 1.
Things appeared more on track in April, when Transport Canada announced that Railmark had received its certificate of approval to operate on new legislation, only days after Transport Canada Minister Lisa Raitt announced that the government would provide $5.3 million over three years for the continued operation of the passenger rail service. The money was to be filtered through the City of Sault Ste. Marie with logistical agreements made between the city, Railmark and the government.
CN continued operations for the following few weeks as the transition unfolded.
The subsequent ride has been far from smooth. In late June, city council, on the recommendation of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp., opted not to sign a contribution agreement with Railmark because the company was unable to secure a line of credit equivalent to three months of operating expenses, as required in a pre-condition. Railmark said the average monthly billing for federal subsidy is about $183,000 per month and, based on that, it was determined a line of credit of about $550,000 would be required.
Errington said the city was correct in its decision.
“There should be no risk to Sault Ste. Marie,” he added. “If there is risk, there is something wrong about the deal.”
Railmark president Allen Brown told The Sault Star then he was determined to continue to operate the passenger service and work toward meeting pre-conditions.
When reached by the Star Friday afternoon, Brown didn’t say much.
“I don’t really have any comment until after Monday night,” he said, referring to the update city council is slated to receive on the matter — this was planned prior to this latest development — during the regular council meeting.
Linda Savory-Gordon, a CAPT co-chair, said she expects EDC CEO and stakeholder spokesperson Tom Dodds to ask council for its support in efforts to lobby the federal government and CN. Dodds could not be reached for comment Friday.
A working group steering committee, formed more than a year ago to save the train service, was to have met last Monday to determine how to get the complete service running again.
Many saw more red flags when it was reported last week the ACR passenger train had not been running on the southern portion of the route, between Sault Ste. Marie and Hawk Junction, since June 25.
The newly christened Algoma Spirit Passenger Train continued regular service between Hawk Junction and Hearst with Brown explaining the move was to keep the operation flowing more quickly in the face of “go-slow” orders. The order, which allows trains to only travel on part of the line at 10 miles per hour instead of 30 miles per hour, was due to train conditions and the heat of the track.
“That was just shocking,” said Savory-Gordon.
Transport Canada “made it very clear,” she said, that funding was for service between the Sault and Hearst.
“That doesn’t mean you can decide to do just half of it.”
Errington branded the service disruption “a message that there were management problems.”
Savory Gordon said it’s Transport Canada’s job now to “apply pressure” on CN to run the train until another operator is chosen.
“(CN) says they are no longer running it and they don’t have to,” she said, adding CN’s reluctance to operate the line was “more understandable” when, in 2014, Ottawa chopped a $2.2-million annual subsidy.
“But now the funding is there, so there’s really no justification for it,” Savory-Gordon said.
“I don’t see, even if there’s some legal hitch, how they can morally refuse to allow that to happen on their line.”
CN has confirmed it, the ACR Passenger Service Stakeholders Working Group and Transport Canada, have been in “regular discussions” and continue to explore short- and long-term solutions.
However, the company has been steadfast in the past it is not in the passenger rail business and no longer wants to operate the service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst.
This stand appears not to have changed.
“We will continue to work with the stakeholder groups and with Transport Canada to find a long-term solution,” Mark Hallman, CN’s director of communications and public affairs, told The Sault Star Friday when asked if CN would take over running the route. It will continue to operate the Agawa Canyon Tour Train daily for the season ending Oct. 12.
Errington said he does have “sympathy for (CN) in that regard.”
“Passenger trains do not fit their culture,” he added. “We don’t want them operating the passenger train either, but we need more co-operation in making sure we have an effective operator of the passenger train. I hope we can find one quickly with the co-operation of CN.”
As for recruiting Railmark, CN insists it did its job.
“During the processes in which we were looking for a third party to take over, CN did its due diligence in terms of looking into the company and selected it as the best that was available at the time,” Hallman said.
“There have been, clearly, issues between Railmark and the municipality in terms of finding a funding mechanism, but that doesn’t involve CN.”
CN is required to ensure continued operation of the Agawa train as a result of contractual agreements it has based on 2008 Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp., funding the train received for upgrades to its coaches and the installation of an audio-video system. NOHFC provided $5 million toward a $10-million train refurbishment and revitalization project in the hopes of increasing tourism.
CN indicated in June it seeks a third-party with secured financing to acquire the Agawa Canyon Tour Train and would consider all qualified operators with suitable committed financing.
“I guess because they don’t have a legal obligation to us and to the stakeholders that depend on that passenger train, they don’t treat it with as much respect,” Errington said.
Stakeholders along the route, including property owners, outfitters, tourist operators and small communities, say the continued service is essential to them.
The recent disruption to the route’s southern portion stymied tourism, many reported.
“It hasn’t been a very nice year and this was shaping up to be one of the best tourism years in over a decade,” Errington said.
“And the fact it could end up being a very negative year and possibly a devastating one for businesses like mine, is not good for the local economy.”
Now, the service’s entire cancellation spells not only lost dollars, but threats to the well-being of those who use the line to reach remote destinations, both Errington and Savory-Gordon contend.
“We consider it a really serious crisis because there are people totally in a mess,” Savory-Gordon said. “I even heard of somebody who needed medication and it couldn’t be delivered by train. It is a terrible mess.”
Technically, Railmark Canada can effectively shut down its operations immediately, leaving stakeholders along the line stranded and without service.
Errington, whose tourist resort along the ACR relies on the passenger rail service to transport guests to and from the operation, said people are “cut off here” and are without cellphone service.
“There could be canoeists out there on a two-week canoe trip,” he said. “They come to the train and they’re waiting there. ‘Well, where’s that train?’ This is a wilderness area and trains are supposed to be reliable and that’s what we need.” He questions the quality of the last remaining week of service.
“Are we going to have trains going or not?” he said. “Trains are supposed to be the essence of reliability. At one time, people used to set their watches by trains going by.”
The city of Sault Ste. Marie Ontario has accepted a recommendation to not sign a final agreement with Railmark Canada regarding the operation of the passenger rail service between the city and Hearst.
Railmark has failed to produce a required line of credit.
“One of the preconditions (for the city to sign) was financing in the form of a line of credit (from Railmark), so we cannot at this time recommend we proceed with the signing of the agreement,” said Tom Dodds, Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation CEO and interim chair of the ACR passenger service stakeholder working group, speaking to council Monday.
“What I’m saying is now we have to look at other options (other operators to run the passenger rail service),” Dodds told council.
Looking at those other options has already started, but doesn’t necessarily rule out Railmark, Dodds told council.
Meanwhile, Railmark Canada President B. Allen Brown said Railmark will continue rolling along from the Sault to Hearst and back at his own expense until he gets that line of credit.
“It (council’s decision) was something I was expecting,” Brown said, speaking to SooToday.
“I’m really disappointed because we’re working very hard, we’re just a little bit away from the finish line (securing the line of credit).”
“I intend to return to Michigan to get the rest of the requested financial information together and finish the process,” said Brown, a U.S. businessman.
“I’m not a quitter,” Brown said.
“We’ve already got the licensing (rail operator certificates and insurance) to do all this.”
Council, in an unanimous recorded vote, accepted the recommendations from Dodds, as interim chair of the stakeholders working group, to not sign the final agreement with Railmark, explore other options in terms of a third party operator for the Sault to Hearst service, and write to both the federal government and CN requesting their continued assistance in keeping the line alive.
CN previously operated the Sault to Hearst passenger rail service with $2.2 million in annual federal funding.
After the federal government announced in 2014 it was ending that subsidy, a group comprised of a wide range of stakeholders was put in place, known as the ACR Passenger Service Stakeholder Working Group.
Two of the stakeholders were the city of Sault Ste. Marie and the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation.
After much lobbying, including the efforts of Sault MP Bryan Hayes, it was announced March 31 the federal government (Transport Canada) agreed to provide $5.3 million in funding to Railmark over the next three years to keep the Sault to Hearst passenger rail service running, with the hope the company can turn the service into a self-sustaining, enhanced rail experience for tourists.
Under the new arrangement, the city of Sault Ste. Marie found itself handling the federal financing for Railmark, and members of city council have expressed concerns Railmark may not live up to all the necessary pre-conditions, with the city being left on the hook.
“What we’ve said is ‘it’s a bit of a time out’ and look at all the options…even today there was a meeting with the stakeholders and Railmark to talk about what are the other things we can do so that it’s in everybody’s interest to go ahead and sign the agreement,” Dodds said, speaking to SooToday.
“Our objective is to grow that business…during this period we would expect we’ll have from Mr. Brown the information as to a line of credit in place, so we can come back with something with substance for the passenger service.”
“Where there is certainty is that the government has made a commitment in terms of five million dollars over three years for another third party operator, Dodds said.
Construction along Woodward Avenue. (From The Detroit News)
Rail may be a year away from ferrying passengers from downtown to Midtown, but housing developments already are popping up along the Woodward Avenue route: an early sign the streetcar service could play a major role in eradicating blight along the 3.3-mile line.
It’s been a hard-fought battle to fund and create the M-1 Rail. While critics predict it will end up a costly mistake, boosters say it will be a game changer that will produce dense, walkable districts.
“We went to Portland, Minneapolis, Denver and San Diego and … we were told light rail was the single dominating economic event that took their cities to the top,” said Dan Gilbert, the billionaire founder of Quicken Loans Inc. and a prime mover in downtown Detroit’s resurgence.
The public transit system will travel on Woodward from Congress Street downtown to West Grand Boulevard just past New Center. Much of that stretch is under major construction in preparation for the streetcars’ debut as early as fall 2016.
Within 10 years, its supporters contend, the M-1 Rail will drive $3 billion in development and 10,000 housing units, filling the yawning gaps of dead buildings and empty lots along Detroit’s most storied street.
“You would really have to go back to the high point of Victorian times to find another era when that stretch of Woodward had plenty of housing,” said Rebecca Binno Savage, a historical preservationist for the Detroit firm Kraemer Design Group.
“Picture the David Whitney mansion: That’s when it peaked as a residential street,” she said.
David Whitney was a lumber baron who lived large and exquisitely in a 22,000-square-foot mansion at 4421 Woodward. His palatial home is now The Whitney restaurant.
Near the 12 stops along M-1’s route, at least 10 housing plans are in the works. Some are still on the drawing board and others will be open by the end of the year. They include:
■A 300-unit complex is intended on the site of the parking lot in front of Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. That project is being spearheaded by Olympia Development of Michigan, the real estate arm of Ilitch Holdings Inc. The Ilitches, who own the Tigers, also are behind the plan to overhaul 45 blocks north of downtown. The area includes the Red Wings arena being built along Woodward and will have an M-1 Rail stop.
■A 200-unit housing project is slated for an empty lot in Brush Park, developed by the principals of Broder & Sachse Real Estate Services Inc. in Birmingham.
■Also, 250 residential units are part of the huge plans for the former Hudson’s site, which will include 225,000 square feet of mixed-use space and 900 parking spaces. That project is being developed by Gilbert.
The rail project also is drawing investments in smaller buildings, key to erasing the pockets of blight that still plague Woodward.
Plans for the Junction
“M-1 Rail has a lot to do with the investment we are seeing, and the kind of investment we are seeing hasn’t happened in years,” said Richard Rubens, who is with the community group Friends of Milwaukee Junction.
Milwaukee Junction is a neighborhood north of New Center. In the past two years, at least a dozen buildings there have changed ownership. Many of those buildings were empty. Plans for them include both commercial and residential development.
Rubens said construction of M-1 Rail has convinced some investors that Milwaukee Junction will be “the next big neighborhood,” as residents and businesses get priced out of Midtown and downtown.
One of the smaller planned developments is a $2 million conversion of an empty two-story warehouse across the street from the Amtrak station as well as from a future M-1 Rail stop. The warehouse at 207 E. Baltimore, on the corner of Woodward, was bought in the county’s tax foreclosure auction two years ago. Plans are underway to convert it to 12 rental lofts by developers Edward Siegel and James Feagin.
In other parts of Woodward, the anticipation over the public transit line has allowed Joel Landy, a longtime local developer, to convert two long-empty structures into apartment and retail complexes. One of those buildings, at Woodward and Peterboro, has been only a facade for years, Landy said. The other building is near Woodward and the I-94 service drive, he said.
“M-1 is not the only factor, but it is one of the big ones, why banks will finance my projects,” Landy said. Both two-story buildings will each get a $1.1 million overhaul. Both will offer market rate rents for the apartments, ranging from $900 to $1,400 a month, depending on the size of the unit.
Efficiency expected
What convinced Landy to invest now is the way many people talk about M-1 Rail, he said.
“The difference between the bus and M-1 Rail is no one wants to take the bus,” Landy said. “You have no idea how long you will wait for the bus. But people are excited about M-1 Rail; their expectations are completely different. They expect it will be efficient, and you can tell it can attract a wide range of people who plan to use it.”
