Michigan Line

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.

Michigan Line
A passenger train crossing a truss bridge over a river
The Wolverine crossing the St. Joseph River at Niles, Michigan in July 2009
Overview
StatusOperating
Owner
LocaleIndiana and Michigan
Termini
Stations10
Service
TypeInter-city rail
SystemAmtrak
ServicesBlue Water, Wolverine
Operator(s)Amtrak
Ridership512,326 (FY22)[lower-alpha 1][1]
Technical
Line length232 mi (373 km)
Number of tracks1
CharacterSingle track with passing sidings
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speedUp to 110 mph (180 km/h)
Route map

Dist.
Station
0 mi
Conrail Michigan Line
to Detroit
273 mi
439 km
Dearborn
271 mi
436 km
Greenfield Village
Wayne Junction
Willow Run Yard
243 mi
391 km
Ann Arbor
205 mi
330 km
Jackson
184 mi
296 km
Albion
160 mi
257 km
Battle Creek
CN to Munster
143.4 mi
230.8 km
Kalamazoo
156.4 mi
251.7 km
Mattawan
160.6 mi
258.5 km
Lawton
168.3 mi
270.9 km
Decatur
179.6 mi
289 km
Dowagiac
190.0 mi
305.8 km
Niles
198.5 mi
319.5 km
Buchanan
206.0 mi
331.5 km
Galien
211.8 mi
340.9 km
Three Oaks
218.9 mi
352.3 km
New Buffalo
222.7 mi
358.4 km
228.5 mi
367.7 km
 
228.9 mi
368.4 km
Michigan City
229.8 mi
369.8 km
South Shore Line
240.7 mi
387.4 km
NS Chicago Line

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, 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 (180 km/h) began from Porter to Kalamazoo on February 15, 2012.[7][8]

In November 2011, Michigan was awarded $150 million to upgrade its rail line to allow speeds of up to 110 mph (177 km/h) along the rest of the line from Kalamazoo to Dearborn, for a total 77% of the routes of Amtrak's Wolverine and Blue Water services between Detroit and Chicago.[9] On May 25, 2021 service at 110 miles per hour (180 km/h) began between Kalamazoo and Albion.[10]

Incidents

Despite the presence of the safety system on the Michigan Line, 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.[11]

References

  1. "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2022 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. November 29, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  2. Bowen, Douglas (May 8, 2012). "STB OKs Michigan DOT rail line buy". Railway Age. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019.
  3. 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.
  4. "Amtrak Michigan Service Improvement Update" (PDF). Amtrak. February 4, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 15, 2017.
  5. "Chicago-Detroit Service Levels". National Association of Rail Passengers. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  6. "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 (PDF) on October 25, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
  7. "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.
  8. 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.
  9. Samuel, A. (November 24, 2011). "$150m awarded to Michigan to expand high speed rail in the Midwest". Rail.co. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  10. "Amtrak gets OK for 110 mph trains in part of Michigan". The Detroit News. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  11. 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

  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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