MDOT Press Release

Officials cut the ribbon in front of the new Pontiac Transporation Center on Aug. 8, 2011. Photo courtesy MDOT.

The new Pontiac Transportation Center, serving both passenger rail and intercity bus passengers, opened for business, Monday, Aug. 8, 2011, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony with state and local officials. Located at 51000 Woodward Ave., the new intermodal station serves Greyhound and Amtrak passengers and is a hub for mass transit, including six daily Amtrak Wolverine Service trains to and from Detroit and Chicago. Local transit provider SMART stops on Woodward Avenue just outside the station.

“Your trip starts here,” said State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle. “This station is an excellent example of why it’s important for the State of Michigan to invest in safe, modern, accessible transit buildings. This is an investment in the city of Pontiac and an investment in public transportation.”

“Investments like this help the State of Michigan provide efficient and effective public transportation, and provide the connections between modes that travelers need to make it a relevant travel option,” said Amtrak Board Chairman Tom Carper, who also attended last year’s groundbreaking.

“Transit systems offer safe, affordable, accessible transportation options that benefit commuters, stimulate new business development within the community, and create jobs through the building and maintenance of critical infrastructure,” said U.S. Rep. Gary Peters. “We’re making a commitment to the economic development of Pontiac, both today and in the future with the opening of the Pontiac Transit Center.”

“I want to congratulate and thank MDOT and the people of Pontiac for their hard work in making the Transportation Center a reality. Safe, affordable and accessible public transportation is vital to the economic health and well-being of our cities,” said Rep. Tim Melton. “Not only will this instantly create good jobs for our residents, but this facility will also open numerous employment and economic opportunities for the citizens of Pontiac to access workplaces that, at one time, may simply have been too far out of reach. I know that Pontiac is headed in the right direction and this is yet another indication of that progress.”

In fiscal year 2010, nearly 16,000 people got on or off the train in Pontiac, a 10 percent increase in travel over the previous year. Since June of fiscal year 2011, more than 12,000 passengers have taken Amtrak, putting the station on pace to exceed the previous year’s trips.

The Pontiac station also is home to Greyhound, with two buses daily and up to eight buses on the weekends. A Greyhound ticket agent will be available 10-12 hours a day on weekdays to assist passengers.

The new 4,500-square-foot station has a passenger lobby, bathrooms, seating and canopies at the bus loading area and the train platform. There is passenger parking and security lighting. Inside, facilities are provided for an Amtrak crew headquarters, which acts as a terminal for crews starting or ending their shifts.

Two of the Amtrak routes in Michigan have been plagued by service delays since June due to speed restrictions imposed by the host freight railroad. Steudle announced that a $4.2 million maintenance agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway would begin soon and improvements completed by mid-September. The work to be done by Norfolk Southern includes replacing ties, smoothing the track, and improving grade crossings on a 135-mile section between Ypsilanti and Kalamazoo. Train speeds of 60 mph will be restored on this segment, in preparation for even higher speeds in years to follow.

Contact: Janet Foran, MDOT Office of Communications, foranj@michigan.gov , 517-335-7176

From The Oakland Press

The Michigan Department of Transportation dedicated Pontiac’s new transportation center Monday, a 4,500-square-foot facility that will serve Greyhound and Amtrak passengers, and includes stops by the local bus service SMART.

MDOT broke ground on the new $1.4 million facility in July 2010 at 51000 Woodward Avenue in Pontiac.

There are six daily trips by Amtrak to and from Detroit and Chicago.

“This is an investment in the city of Pontiac and an investment in public transportation,” MDOT Director Kirk T. Steudle said.

Amtrak Board Chairman Tom Carper said the facility provides “the connections between modes that travelers need to make it a relevant travel option.”

Also participating in the dedication of the facility were U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, and state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, whose district includes Pontiac.

According to Amtrak, 16,000 people used train service in Pontiac in fiscal 2010 and passenger traffic is expected to be higher this year.

Besides a station for Amtrak, Greyhound will also have a presence with two buses daily from the facility and up to eight buses on the weekends.

Steudle, the MDOT director, also announced a $4.2 million maintenance agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway, which is expected to restore train speeds to 60 mph later this year in preparation for higher speeds later.

Source: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2011/08/09/news/local_news/doc4e4147a0e0596654451981.txt

From a U.S. Department of Transportation press release:

American Manufacturing Gets a Boost through a Combined
$782 Million Investment in Passenger Rail Equipment

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that California, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Missouri will receive $336.2 million to purchase next-generation, American-made trains that will run on rail corridors in those states. Previously awarded rail dollars bring the amount received by these five states and Washington State to $782 million for the purchase of 33 quick-acceleration locomotives and 120 bi-level passenger cars.

“Today’s announcement is all about jobs. Thanks to the leadership of the Obama Administration, these orders will pump more than three quarters of a billion dollars into the domestic manufacturing industry,” said Secretary LaHood. “And, our Buy America standard will put people to work all over the county.”

California and Illinois reached cooperative agreements with the Federal Railroad Administration to begin a multi-state procurement of equipment for passenger rail corridors in California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon and Washington State.  Through a joint procurement process states will leverage these federal investments, along with state matching dollars, ensuring taxpayers receive the best possible deal while creating the necessary momentum to encourage manufacturers to build equipment in U.S. plants with American workers and suppliers.

“Building a nationwide rail network is critical to America’s long-term economic success.  More people are choosing to take the train and this year Amtrak is projected to set an all-time record by topping 30 million annual riders,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo.

Trains will be designed to travel more than 110 mph along intercity passenger corridors, and meet standards developed by the state-led, Next Generation Equipment Committee.  This will provide manufacturers with consistent specifications for all passenger trains in the United States, reducing costs for manufacturers and customers, while providing a boost to the railcar manufacturing industry.  The state partners will now begin a joint procurement process, first issuing a request for information (RFI) and then a request for proposal (RFP) to allow for an open and competitive process.  The RFI is expected to be issued in late summer 2011.

A strict “Buy America” requirement ensures that U.S. manufacturers and workers receive the maximum economic benefits from this federal investment. In 2009, Secretary LaHood secured a commitment from 30 foreign and domestic rail manufacturers to employ American workers and locate or expand their base of operations in the U.S. if they are selected for high-speed-rail contracts.  In addition, in June, DOT announced a $562.9 million loan to Amtrak through FRA’s Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program to finance the purchase of 70 high-performance, electric locomotives from Siemens Industry USA, creating 250 new manufacturing jobs in California, Ohio and Georgia.

The Obama Administration has invested $10.1 billion to lay the groundwork for a high-speed and intercity passenger rail network in the United States, providing rail access to new communities and improving the reliability, speed and frequency of existing lines. Of that, more than $6 billion has been obligated, with corridor projects under way in New England, Illinois, Washington State and North Carolina and stations under construction in California and North Carolina.

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From The Oakland Press

Abigail Wright stood on the train platform with her luggage.

Wright was visiting from England and on her way to a wedding in Berrien Springs. She was making the journey by train, hopping on at the new Pontiac Transportation Center.

Train travel, she said, is far more popular in her home country than in Michigan.

“It’s the best really,” she said. “You get a lot of people being on one mode of transportation instead of everyone driving and polluting the air.”

Wright is one of the first to take advantage of the new transportation center on Woodward Avenue.

The grand opening for the $1.4 million facility will be at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the facility, which is located at 51000 Woodward Ave., just north of Orchard Lake Road.

Michigan Department of Transportation Director Kirk Steudle, U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, Amtrak Board Cochairman Thomas Carper and State Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, will be in attendance.

Ground was broken on the transportation center in July 2010.

The center is meant to serve as a hub for mass transit, with six daily Amtrak Wolverine trains going from Detroit to Chicago. It also provides access to Greyhound buses.

The station was open for a short time before the grand opening was announced, Michigan Department of Transportation officials said.

The money for the new 4,500-square-foot building came from gas taxes collected at the pump and funneled through the Michigan Comprehensive Transportation Fund to mass transit.

The previous transportation center on Woodward Avenue was demolished in 2008. A small temporary building was placed on the site as a replacement.

The old center had been victimized by vandals before being torn down.

The new facility has a lobby for customers, bathrooms, seating and canopies for the bus and train platform.

It also provides passenger parking, security lighting and covered bus access.

Source: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2011/08/05/news/local_news/doc4e3b2f3b32b3a378340017.txt?viewmode=fullstory

From Metromode

They said it would never happen in Dallas. They said it was a city that loved its cars too much, that its massive system of freeways obliterated the need for trains, and that Dallas’ suburban sprawl was too entrenched for it to ever go the way of more densely populated cities and regions that were long accustomed to getting places by rail.

Sound familiar?

The same arguments – and then some – are raised again and again when it comes to bringing light rail to metro Detroit. And yet Dallas built it and we’re still arguing.

So why The Big D, the not The D? Why can’t metro Detroit, despite its love affair with cars, sprawl, and freeways (the very first was built in Detroit) follow Dallas – or Cleveland, Phoenix, St. Louis, Portland, Denver, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Charlotte, etc – and make light rail a reality?

Read more: http://www.metromodemedia.com/features/dallasdetroitlightrail0218.aspx