Category Archives: FYI

Announcements, FYI, News

Amtrak adding trains in Michigan for Christmas holiday travel

Due to strong demand, Amtrak is adding additional Wolverine Service trains between Michigan and Chicago to provide expanded December weekend travel options. Passengers should book their tickets now for best availability and pricing.

Amtrak will offer an additional eastbound and an additional westbound Wolverine Service train between Chicago and Ann Arbor on December 21, 22 & 23 and on December 28, 29 & 30. Ordinarily, Amtrak provides three daily round-trips through Ann Arbor, with continuing service to and from Detroit-area stations.

The regular Wolverines (Trains 350-355) and the extra Wolverines (Trains 356 & 359) will operate at top speeds of 110 mph through parts of Indiana and Western Michigan. Please see the schedules below, which include the Blue Water (Trains 364 & 365), that share the Wolverine route between Battle Creek and Chicago.

During Thanksgiving 2012, a record setting 737,537 passengers chose trains in the 46 states served by Amtrak, up 1.9 percent over the previous year and the prior record set in 2011. Thanksgiving ridership on the Amtrak Wolverines was 15,361, up nearly 17 percent from the year before in large part due to extra holiday trains operated between Kalamazoo/Ann Arbor and Chicago.

The extra trains were added with the encouragement of the Michigan Department of Transportation and permission of Norfolk Southern and CN railroads.

CLICK TO ENLARGE THIS SCHEDULE.

Amtrak-Chicago-Michigan-December-ATK-12-134-2

Announcements, FYI

Michigan’s Vanishing Train Stations: Architecture, History and Sense of Place

Detroit News Fine Arts Writer Michael Hodges Discusses Michigan’s Vanishing Train Stations: Architecture, History and Sense of Place

Wednesday November 28, 2012: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Branch
Multi-Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

In this lecture and slideshow, Detroit News reporter Michael H. Hodges discusses the functional and stylistic evolution of the train station over the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the range of styles architects employed to both tame and exalt rail transportation.

Hodges’ new coffee-table book, Michigan’s Historic Railroad Stations photographs and profiles 31 depots (including Ann Arbor) across the state.

Michael will also sign copies of the book (which will be for sale) following the event.

Parking lot across Fifth Ave. from Library. New underground parking structure next to library with entrance off Fifth Ave. just north of library

Library website:  www.aadl.org

Announcements, FYI

Call for Papers — 12th Michigan Railroad History Conference

Interested speakers, contact Mark Worrall, Chairperson, by January 15, 2013, at Markxworrall@hotmail.com.

The 12th Michigan Railroad History Conference is planned for October 5, 2013, in Bay City, MI.

 

Conference information updates will be found on: www.MichiganRailroadHistory.org

or

on the Michigan Railroad Calendar at:  www.MichiganRailroad.com.

For future information, possible attendees may submit their email address to the Registrar at info@mirrhistory.net or send their postal address to

Registrar, MRHC, P.O. Box 852, Royal Oak, MI  48068.

 

Please pass or post this announcement to inform others interested in presenting at the conference.

Announcements, FYI

Groundbreaking for the Troy Multi-Modal Transit Facility

Tuesday, November 27, 10:30 – 11:30 am
Troy Multi-Modal Transit Facility,
1201 Doyle Drive, Troy 48084 (map)

The Troy Transit Center site as it looked in May 2012. Photo by John DeLora.

Click here for map for parking.   Please RSVP to Cindy.Stewart@troymi.gov or call 248.524.1147

The  City of Troy received a federal grant for the construction of the Troy Multi-Modal Transit Facility through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program, Federal Rail Administration (FRA).  The project is fully funded with federal funds. No City funding is required for the construction of the project.

The Troy Multi-Modal Transit Facility will replace an inadequate Amtrak station with an ADA-compliant, safe and secure transportation center in the City of Troy.  The Facility will strengthen transit options and provide greater mobility options through a centralized facility allowing user access to intercity passenger rail service, regional bus routes, taxi services and the Troy-Oakland Airport.

The project includes a 2,000-square-foot building with a waiting area and public restrooms.  The facility will provide linkages to groundside intermodal facilities via ADA-compliant sidewalks and a pedestrian bridge over the tracks to a new Amtrak platform on the west side of the tracks. Elevators and stairs will provide access to the pedestrian bridge.  The new facility will also provide a SMART bus stop area sized to accommodate up to four full size buses, and a passenger/taxi drop off and pick up area.  Parking for all modes of travel will be provided in an upgraded parking area on the Troy side.

Announcements, FYI, News

Amtrak adds a train trip Nov. 25 to Chicago-Quincy corridor

In anticipation of its busiest travel week of the year, Amtrak is adding an Illinois round-trip train originating at mid-day on Nov. 25, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Amtrak will offer one additional eastbound (Train 384) and one additional westbound (Train 385) frequency on the Chicago-Quincy corridor, via Galesburg and Macomb.

Ordinarily, Amtrak originates two daily morning and evening round-trips, the Illinois Zephyr (Trains 380 & 383) and the Carl Sandburg (Trains 381 & 382) that travel the full length of the corridor, plus some additional Amtrak service at Galesburg, Princeton or Mendota provided by the Southwest Chief (Trains 3 & 4) and California Zephyr (Trains 5 & 6).

In order to accommodate the additional round-trip on Nov. 25, Train 383 will depart Chicago 20 minutes later than usual and operate on a modified schedule to Quincy that day only. Please see below for the full schedule of 380-series trains, operated by Amtrak under a contract with the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Ridership on the Chicago-Quincy corridor rose four percent in the last year, to total more than 265,000 passengers.

This is the second announcement of additional Amtrak service from the Chicago Hub for the Thanksgiving holiday. Last month, Amtrak announced additional Wolverine Service trains between Chicago and Kalamazoo/Ann Arbor, Mich.

(Click on schedule to enlarge)