Michigan Line

Michigan Line
Michigan Line
	The Wolverine crossing the St. Joseph River at Niles, Michigan in July 2009
Overview
Status	Operating
Owner	Amtrak (Porter–Kalamazoo); Canadian National (within Battle Creek); MDOT (Kalamazoo–Dearborn);
Locale	Indiana and Michigan
Termini	Porter, Indiana; Dearborn, Michigan;
Stations	10
Service
Type	Inter-city rail
System	Amtrak
Services	Blue Water, Wolverine
Operator(s)	Amtrak
Ridership	616,166 (FY 25) 2.6%
Technical
Line length	232 mi (373 km)
Number of tracks	1
Character	Single track with passing sidings
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed	Up to 110 mph (180 km/h)
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	Conrail Michigan Line
	to Detroit
	273 mi
	439 km
	271 mi
	436 km
	243 mi
	391 km
	205 mi
	330 km
	184 mi
	296 km
	160 mi
	257 km
	143.4 mi
	230.8 km
	156.4 mi
	251.7 km
	160.6 mi
	258.5 km
	168.3 mi
	270.9 km
	179.6 mi
	289 km
	190.0 mi
	305.8 km
	198.5 mi
	319.5 km
	206.0 mi
	331.5 km
	211.8 mi
	340.9 km
	218.9 mi
	352.3 km
	222.7 mi
	358.4 km
	Michigan
	Indiana
	228.5 mi
	367.7 km
	228.9 mi
	368.4 km
	229.8 mi
	369.8 km
	240.7 mi
	387.4 km
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

The Michigan Line, sometimes known as the Chicago–Detroit Line, is a higher-speed rail corridor that runs between Porter, Indiana and Dearborn, Michigan. It carries Amtrak's Blue Water and Wolverine services, as well as the occasional freight train operated by Norfolk Southern.

Amtrak owns the 98-mile (158 km) section between Porter, Indiana, to Kalamazoo, Michigan, the longest stretch of Amtrak-owned rail outside of the Northeastern U.S. The state of Michigan, through the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) owns the 135-mile (217 km) section between Kalamazoo and Dearborn, which it purchased from Norfolk Southern in December 2012.^[2] Norfolk Southern retains an exclusive trackage right for freight on the line.^[3] A short stretch of track in Battle Creek, Michigan is owned by Canadian National Railway. The entire line was originally the mainline of the Michigan Central Railroad.

The entire corridor (including the portion owned by MDOT) is dispatched and maintained by Amtrak, which as of September 2021^[update], is working to replace worn tracks and integrate the train signaling and communication systems.^[4]

History

In 2002, the section from Porter to Kalamazoo became the first passenger rail line in the United States to have positive train control (PTC) technology installed,^[5] specifically GE Transportation Systems' Incremental Train Control System (ITCS). In 2005, Amtrak received approval from the Federal Railroad Administration to run trains at up to 95 miles per hour (153 km/h).^[6] Most Amtrak trains outside of the Northeast are limited to 79 mph (127 km/h) due to federal regulations. Regular service at 110 mph (177 km/h) began from Porter to Kalamazoo on February 15, 2012.^[7]^[8]

In November 2011, Michigan was awarded $150 million to buy the Kalamazoo–Dearborn portion of the line from Norfolk Southern. Combined with a $196 million federal government grant announced the previous month to improve signaling and track quality, trains will be able to run at 110 mph (177 km/h) on 77% of the length of the Detroit–Chicago corridor.^[9] Before the track was purchased by MDOT, Norfolk Southern was planning to allow track degradation to occur, eventually reducing allowable speeds to 25 mph (40 km/h) for passenger trains and its eight daily round-trip freight trains.^[10] On May 25, 2021, service at 110 mph (177 km/h) began between Kalamazoo and Albion.^[11]

In October 2024, Amtrak was awarded an $8.4 million federal grant for design work to restore double track between Niles and Wayne Township.^[12]^[13]

Incidents

Despite the presence of the safety system on the Michigan Line,^[which?] a derailment occurred just east of Niles, Michigan, on October 21, 2012, after a Wolverine train exited the main line and entered a freight yard due to a misaligned switch. The train had a green signal and was traveling at about 60 mph (97 km/h) when it hit the switch. The incident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and was found to be an Amtrak contractor's fault, caused by one of its employees improperly applying jumper wires to the signal system, bypassing safeguards that had been designed to prevent such an occurrence.^[14]

References

^ "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2025 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. November 18, 2025.
^ Bowen, Douglas (May 8, 2012). "STB OKs Michigan DOT rail line buy". Railway Age. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019.
^ Bowen, Douglas (December 14, 2012). "Michigan DOT completes NS rail line buy". Railway Age. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
^ "Amtrak Michigan Service Improvement Update" (PDF). Amtrak. February 4, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 15, 2017.
^ "Chicago-Detroit Service Levels". National Association of Rail Passengers. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
^ "AGE's Positive Train Control Technology is Full Speed Ahead on Amtrak's Michigan Line" (PDF) (Press release). General Electric. October 11, 2005. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
^ "All aboard! MDOT puts 110 mph special Amtrak train video on YouTube" (Press release). Michigan Department of Transportation. February 15, 2012. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
^ Smigiel, Anthony (February 15, 2012). "Amtrak celebrates increase in train speeds to 110 mph along Kalamazoo corridor from Chicago". Kalamazoo Gazette. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
^ "US OKs $150M toward Chicago-Detroit fast train". Associated Press. November 22, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2024 – via CBS Detroit.
^ Dearborn to Kalamazoo corridor acquisition and improvements: Finding of no significant impact (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration (Report). September 16, 2011. pp. 2–3.
^ "Amtrak gets OK for 110 mph trains in part of Michigan". The Detroit News. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
^ "FY 2023-2024 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant Program: Project Summaries" (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration. p. 14.
^ "Amtrak Receives Federal Grants to Improve Chicago Service and Support Partner Projects across the Midwest" (Press release). Amtrak. October 31, 2024.
^ Hilkevitch, Jon (October 23, 2012). "NTSB: Chicago-Michigan Amtrak missed freight cars by 21 feet". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2012.

Notes

^ Amtrak's Fiscal Year (FY) runs from October 1 of the prior year to September 30 of the named year.

External links

Media related to Michigan Line at Wikimedia Commons

[AmtrakRouteRidership-2] "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2025 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. November 18, 2025.

[3] Bowen, Douglas (May 8, 2012). "STB OKs Michigan DOT rail line buy". Railway Age. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019.

[4] Bowen, Douglas (December 14, 2012). "Michigan DOT completes NS rail line buy". Railway Age. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2015.

[5] "Amtrak Michigan Service Improvement Update" (PDF). Amtrak. February 4, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 15, 2017.

[6] "Chicago-Detroit Service Levels". National Association of Rail Passengers. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2010.

[7] "AGE's Positive Train Control Technology is Full Speed Ahead on Amtrak's Michigan Line" (PDF) (Press release). General Electric. October 11, 2005. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007.

[8] "All aboard! MDOT puts 110 mph special Amtrak train video on YouTube" (Press release). Michigan Department of Transportation. February 15, 2012. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2012.

[9] Smigiel, Anthony (February 15, 2012). "Amtrak celebrates increase in train speeds to 110 mph along Kalamazoo corridor from Chicago". Kalamazoo Gazette. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.

[cbs-news-detroit-20111122-10] "US OKs $150M toward Chicago-Detroit fast train". Associated Press. November 22, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2024 – via CBS Detroit.

[FONSI-11] Dearborn to Kalamazoo corridor acquisition and improvements: Finding of no significant impact (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration (Report). September 16, 2011. pp. 2–3.

[12] "Amtrak gets OK for 110 mph trains in part of Michigan". The Detroit News. Retrieved June 4, 2023.

[13] "FY 2023-2024 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant Program: Project Summaries" (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration. p. 14.

[14] "Amtrak Receives Federal Grants to Improve Chicago Service and Support Partner Projects across the Midwest" (Press release). Amtrak. October 31, 2024.

[15] Hilkevitch, Jon (October 23, 2012). "NTSB: Chicago-Michigan Amtrak missed freight cars by 21 feet". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2012.

[FY_Note-1] Amtrak's Fiscal Year (FY) runs from October 1 of the prior year to September 30 of the named year.

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