Amtrak press release

CHICAGO – Why labor through traffic and tolls during Labor Day Weekend when Amtrak is adding service between Chicago and Western Michigan? An early morning westbound train from Kalamazoo gets you to the Lake Michigan beaches or to Chicago in time to get breakfast and “Enjoy Illinois,” while a late evening eastbound train to Kalamazoo is “Pure Michigan,” to quote from each state’s tourism agency.

From September 2-6, five eastbound Amtrak trains will depart Chicago once in the morning, twice in the afternoon and twice in the evening, making stops in New Buffalo, Niles and Kalamazoo. From September 3-7, five westbound Amtrak trains will depart Kalamazoo three times in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the evening. Some of these trains will also serve Hammond-Whiting and Michigan City, Ind., along with Dowagiac, Mich. See the attached schedules for details.

One way adult tickets between Chicago and Kalamazoo start at $21. Up to two children ages 2-15 per adult can ride for half-fare.

The Amtrak Wolverine Service trains have been selling out — even after adding additional coach and business class seats on the Chicago-Kalamazoo-Detroit/Pontiac corridor on weekends this year. For the period October 2009 through July 2010, more than 390,000 passengers rode the route, up nearly six percent from the previous year, with July 2010 ridership up nearly 23 percent from July 2009. This route in Western Michigan is shared with the Amtrak Blue Water to and from East Lansing and Port Huron, which is up 15 percent for the year, 50 percent in July.

This experiment is another example of Amtrak responding to market demands and adding service. Earlier this summer, Amtrak operated extra trains during Milwaukee’s Summerfest.

From a Federal Railroad Administration press release:

In an overwhelming show of support for the Administration’s high-speed rail initiative, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood today announced that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has received 77 applications from 25 states for the most recent round of High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) grant funding. Application requests total more than $8.5 billion and will be considered for funding from more than $2.3 billion appropriated in FY 2010.

This is in addition to the $8 billion appropriated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as a down payment for the HSIPR program.

“The response to our call to transform America’s transportation landscape has been tremendous and shows the country is ready for high-speed rail,” Secretary LaHood said. “We have received strong bi-partisan support for President Obama’s bold initiative that will enhance regional mobility, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, ease highway and airport congestion and reduce our carbon footprint.”

FRA received 20 applications from 10 states totaling $7.8 billion for high-speed rail corridor development programs. FRA also received 57 applications from 18 states totaling $700 million for smaller, individual projects within rail corridors that are ready to begin construction. While not all proposed projects can be funded, the Department will evaluate the applications to identify the projects that will deliver the greatest public benefits and give American taxpayers the highest return on their investment.

“These historic investments will allow states to take the next step in making their high-speed intercity passenger rail development plans a reality,” said FRA Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. “The states and FRA have been working hard to establish a solid foundation for a long-term program that will reshape our transportation system.”

Total funding to date for the HSIPR program comes from several sources:

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: $8 billion.
• FY2009 appropriations and remaining funds from a related FY 2008 appropriations funded program: $95 million.
• FY2010 appropriations: $2.125 billion (HSIPR service development projects), $245 million (HSIPR individual projects), and $50 million (HSIPR planning and multi-state proposal activities).

Grant selections for the $2.345 billion in FY2010 appropriations are intended to help states further develop their corridor plans. From this amount, $245 million has been reserved for individual projects within a corridor that is ready to begin construction. Recipients of this funding will be announced in the fall of 2010.

To date, FRA has awarded more than $583 million to states for HSIPR.

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