MDOT Accelerates Track Work
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AUTUMN 2013 Subsidy for Amtrak services triples Volume 40, Number 4 BY LARRY SOBCZAK Prior to the implementation into law in 2008, some rail ad- On Oct. 1 the costs of Am- of PRIIA’s section 209, Michi- vocates, including many MARP trak service to Michigan taxpay- gan was already covering the members, were worried that the ers jumped from approximately difference with a subsidy for the Michigan legislature might not $8 million to $25 million a year. Pere Marquette serving Grand be agreeable to increasing the Rapids to Chicago and the Blue The increase in cost was state’s subsidies. Michigan Association Water serving Port Huron to Chi- of Railroad Passengers due to section 209 of the Pas- cago but not the Wolverine serv- “We have a legislature that is very open to rail in general,” said www.marp.org senger Rail Improvement and ing Pontiac to Chicago. Amtrak Investment Act of 2008 (PRIIA) covered all of the difference be- Tim Hoeffner who is Director of which stipulates that states must tween revenue and expenditures Rail at the Michigan Department WHAT’S cover more of the difference be- on the Wolverine route prior to of Transportation. “It is maybe tween revenue and expenditures one of the friendliest legislatures INSIDE… the current fi scal year which be- on routes under 750 miles long gan on Oct. 1. to rail in my time at MDOT.” serving their state. (See PRIIA, page 3) Parking problems When PRIIA was signed in Port Huron See Page 3 Past, present and future of Englewood See Page 4 South Of Lake study moves forward See Page 5 MARP celebrates forty years of service See Page 6 PAID 44870 WORKING ON THE RAILROAD. Norlfolk Southern track gangs replace rails and ties in West Dear- U.S. POSTAGE U.S. PRESORT STD. PRESORT born in an effort by the Michigan Department of Transportation to bring speeds on the tracks between PERMIT NO. 10 PERMIT NO. SANDUSKEY, OH SANDUSKEY, Dearborn and Kalamazoo from 79 mph to 110 mph. Read an account of the work being performed on page 8. (Photo by Steve Sobel) MDOT accelerates track work BY LARRY SOBCZAK benefi ts from more reliable track Wolverine trains #350 and Transportation offi cials are conditions and eliminates the #353 have seen the bulk of de- hoping to squeeze two con- need for similar track disruptions lays and schedule changes dur- struction years of work into one next year between Dearborn and ing the construction. Some trains season this fall along the Mich- Kalamazoo,” said Al Johnson, have been cancelled outright igan-owned rail line between MDOT Rail Operations Man- while others have terminated at Dearborn and Kalamazoo. ager. Jackson with buses transporting The goal of the construction passengers to their fi nal destina- Amtrak, the Michigan De- tions. partment of Transportation and blitz is to get passenger train Norfolk Southern Railway are speeds up to 110 M.P.H. by 2016 Amtrak and MDOT offi cials coordinating their efforts to re- and cut the travel time between warn that all Michigan trains habilitate a major portion of Detroit and Chicago by more can be affected by the construc- the railroad by Thanksgiving than two hours. tion and urge passenger to check by opening up long construc- When all 2013 phases of the with Amtrak at the Amtrak web- tion windows four days a week project are complete in Novem- site or automated phone service between freight and passenger ber, more than 30 miles of new when making fi nal preparations traffi c during the mornings and track and 130,000 new crossties to leave for the train station. afternoons. will be installed by crews work- Turn to page 8 to see and read MI 48318-0076 ca, Ɵ ing ten-hour days. more about the construction. MARP 180076 PO Box U “This work provides great Page 2 Th e Michigan Passenger Autumn 2013 Michigan Association of Railroad Th e Michigan Passenger Passengers, Inc. is published four times annually by the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, Inc. OFFICERS Copyright © 2013 Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, Inc. Chair All articles not originated by MARP are copyrighted by their Robert Tischbein respective originators. All rights reserved. Articles used in 586-726-9737 accordance with the Fair Use Clause of the United States [email protected] Constitution. Vice Chair The Michigan Passenger welcomes submissions on passenger rail Larry Krieg 734-347-2179 issues for publication. Material sent for publication should be sent [email protected] to our Editor at: [email protected]. Secretary Clippings from newspapers and magazines must include the Hugh Gurney publication’s name and date. Photos sent in by e-mail should be in 517-545-2979 JPEG format. [email protected] We reserve the right to edit all submissions.To subscribe to this Treasurer publication, join MARP by fi lling out the application below. All David Randall MARP members receive a copy of this publication sent to their 248-924-4078 home or business. [email protected] Michigan Passenger Editor & MARP Webmaster: REGIONAL CHAIRS Larry Sobczak, [email protected] Metro Detroit 586-781-6891 Jim Hinkins 313-881-6258 [email protected] Contributors: Clark Chenetski East/Central Michigan John DeLora Rosemary Horvath 989-506-9539 Hugh Gurney [email protected] Steve Sobel West Michigan Vacant Contact MARP if you interested in this position. About MARP… [email protected] The Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, Inc. (MARP) Northern Michigan was established in 1973 as a consumer advocacy group to improve Don Monteith intercity rail and bus service, improve local transit and encourage (231) 675-1608 the preservation of historic railroad stations. [email protected] MARP is not affi liated with Amtrak, the railroads, governments or AT-LARGE EXECUTIVES any political party. MARP is incorporated as a Michigan non-profi t organization and is exempt from federal income tax under the IRS John D. Langdon 616-218-9009 code, 501( c )(3) as a charitable educational organization. Dues and [email protected] donations to MARP may be tax-deductible in accordance with the IRS code. Jim Wallington 517-303-6038 MARP is an all-volunteer organization. Its membership consists of [email protected] passengers and citizens who want a viable, balanced transportation Kay M. Chase system in Michigan. We can all use the help we can get! 269-388-3777 [email protected] http://www.marp.org [email protected] Kathleen Newell http://www.facebook.com/pages/michigan-association-of-railroad-passengers 310-740-0421 [email protected] http://twitter.com/michrailpass Autumn 2013 Th e Michigan Passenger Page 3 PRIIA If anything, PRIIA has seemed vice on the Blue Water. For a $10 January to the Wolverine trains. to have the effect of improving fee, passengers can bring their bi- MDOT’s share of the cost of (Continued from amenities on Michigan trains. cycle onto the train and leave it on the service will be $1 million which page 1) In August, Amtrak announced a rack in the café car. Hoeffner said should be recouped it would be adding a “quiet car” to Advocates of bicycle service within a year through increased The state legislature included the Wolverine trains. such as the League of Michigan ticket revenues from increases in the increased subsidy when it ap- The quiet car gives passengers Bicyclists say that the service helps ridership. proved the 2013-2014 fi scal year bridge the gap between the train budgets last spring without po- a place to relax without being dis- “There defi nitely seems to be a turbed by other passengers using station and the passenger’s fi nal relation between the amenities and litical rancor which seemed to sur- destination or origination point. round comparatively smaller in- electronics, phones or talking. PRIIA. There seems to be an effort creases in the subsidy during prior In September, Amtrak an- MDOT is working with Am- by Amtrak to increase ridership on legislative sessions. nounced it is offering bicycle ser- trak to introduce Wi-Fi service this state-funded trains,” he said. Ridership gain squeezes parking in Port Huron BY JOHN DeLORA It’s no secret that ridership on the Michigan-supported Blue Water has been soaring. Rider- ship through the end of July is up 9.6 percent over the same period last year. The Blue Water ridership surge is causing parking prob- lems at the Port Huron Amtrak station. The 60 space parking lot has been overwhelmed, leading Port Huron offi cials to begin consid- CRAMMED IN. Some passengers boarding Amtrak’s Blue Water train in Port Huron end up parking on the lawn ering options, including: outside the station because all of the designated parking is full. (Photo by John DeLora.) • Expanding the existing A recent midweek survey of The VIA coach fare from $316.00 US. This roundabout lot (very diffi cult but probably the Port Huron lot showed cars London, ON to Vancouver is routing is offset by the much possible, depending on willing- parked everywhere possible, in- $587.00 CDN, while the Am- lower cost and the spectacular ness of nearby landowners to sell cluding in between the Amtrak trak coach fare from Port Huron scenery on the Coast Starlight. at a reasonable price), station tracks and the busy CN to Vancouver (using the Empire Canadians can save $203.00 by • Establishing an off-site freight mainline close by. The Builder) is $384.00 US. If a pas- using the Empire Builder route lot with a shuttle bus connection survey revealed 113 cars at the senger is not time-sensitive, they and a whopping $271.00 by us- to the station (not likely to be station; the surprise was that can lower the cost even further ing the Southwest Chief routing.