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Construction on Amtrak Project to Begin This Summer
Source: Detroit Free Press: Fast Trains from Detroit to Chicago coming in 3-4 years by Ellen Creager
Fast trains?!
Michigan was awarded $403.2 million in federal dollars this year for improvements to the Wolverine line between Pontiac and Chicago. Construction is likely to begin this summer and continue for three or four years. By 2015-16, Amtrak expects to have new locomotives, new cars, smoother tracks, better signaling and on-time service on the Wolverine.
The trains now are slow, jerky and old. The aim is to have trains that can go 110 mph and the short-term goal is to eliminate mystery stops because of traffic from freight trains and poor track conditions. Timothy Hoeffner, administrator of the Michigan Department of Transportation's office of rail, said, "It's not how fast you go, it's how little you go slow. We need to take the mystery out of the trip. You need to know when you are going to leave and more importantly, you need to know when you are going to arrive."
However, before things get better, they could get worse. For the next 3-4 years, disruptions will occur on the line especially on the 135-mile section of track between Dearborn and Kalamazoo, where the most major work will be done.
"The end result will be more and better travel choices for people in Michigan," Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. "It is inherently a much more civilized mode of transportation."
Read the full article from the Detroit Free Press.
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