The last of three Michigan track improvement phases for the 2013 construction season begins between Jackson and Kalamazoo on Oct. 14. While the project will cause some delays and modified weekday schedules, the result will be upgraded tracks and more reliable service as part of the Accelerated Rail Program being carried out by Amtrak for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).

Click here for the Passenger Service Notice that will be distributed on trains and at stations to explain the Monday-Thursday schedule changes and provide more information about possible delays. The track improvement work began last month west of Dearborn and is supervised by an MDOT/Amtrak team.

Amtrak Wolverine Service Trains 350 & 353 will terminate and originate in Kalamazoo, rather than Pontiac, through Nov.21. Alternate transportation for these trains will be provided in both directions as chartered buses between Pontiac and Kalamazoo.

Unlike the previous two phases of track improvements, this phase will also involve a temporary schedule change for westbound Amtrak Blue Water Train 365. The route between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo is shared by Wolverine and Blue Water trains.

This phase of the project will largely take place Mondays through Thursdays, with the tracks open for all trains on regular schedules on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

When all 2013 phases of the project are complete next month, more than 30 miles of new track and 130,000 new crossties will be installed by crews working ten-hour days.

“This is the largest phase of the 2013 work,” said Al Johnson, MDOT Rail Operations Manager. “It provides great benefits from more reliable track conditions and eliminates the

need for similar track disruptions next year between Dearborn and Kalamazoo.”

MDOT is leading a three-state effort to improve the 300-mile corridor from Pontiac and Detroit across Michigan, through northwest Indiana and to Chicago. The result of these and future infrastructure improvements will allow Amtrak trains in mid-Michigan to operate at speeds up to 110 miles per hour, as they do now for 80 miles in southwestern Michigan and part of Indiana.

Michigan has the longest stretch of higher-speeds in the Midwest, with the Wolverine and

Blue Water trains carrying Amtrak passengers at the highest speeds available outside the Northeast U.S.

A goal of the project is to reduce the end-to-end travel time between Detroit/Pontiac and Chicago by approximately two hours from the current 6 hours and 30 minutes. For more information, visit GreatLakesRail.org.

Amtrak passengers can opt in when they make their round-trip or one-way reservations to be automatically notified when their trains are behind schedule due to construction work or for any other reason.

From an Amtrak press release: http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/591/237/Amtrak-Michigan-2013-Improvement-Phase-3-ATK-13-119.pdf

Library of Michigan will host the 2013 Michigan Rails Conference on Saturday, September 21, 2013.  The conference features keynote speaker Michael H. Hodges, author of the award-winning Michigan’s Historic Railroad Stations, and capstone speaker Graydon M. Meints, railroad scholar and author of Railroads for Michigan.

“We are delighted to host the Michigan Rails Conference,” said State Librarian Nancy Robertson, “we expect that train enthusiasts, teachers, and students will find it fun and informative.”

Presentations on historical Michigan rail and modern Michigan rail transportation will be available concurrently.  Modern Michigan rail sessions include interurban railways of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Transportation’s ongoing statewide railway projects and the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers discussion on passenger rail travel.

Highlights of the historical Michigan rail presentations include an opportunity to discuss the Michigan Railroad History Museum’s programs and railroad postcards. The Library of Michigan’s Martha W. Griffiths Michigan Rare Book Room also will display antiquarian railroad materials.

The conference cost is $15 per participant and includes admission to all sessions, a continental breakfast and box lunch. Parking is free.  Registration is from 8-9 a.m. on Saturday, September 21, 2013 and available online.  For a full schedule or to select sessions and register please visit:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HCXFFNQ.