[Republic of Michigan]

Amtrak announced Monday it will increase the maximum speed of its trains along a 45-mile stretch between Kalamazoo and Albion next week and restore an additional Pontiac/Detroit-Chicago Wolverine Service round trip this summer.

Basically, trains from Portage, IN to Albion can travel 110 mph. The next stretch is from Albion to Dearborn to be completed.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...an/5132486001/

[craig11152]

I wonder how much time that will actually cut?
In a 45 mile stretch how many miles does it take to hit 110?
How many miles out do they have to start slowing down?
How fast are they currently going on that stretch?

Sidebar my wife will be going Ann Arbor to Chicago May 31. Tickets are $40 if you book out several days and its not a Friday or Saturday. If you wait too long to book they jump to $90.

[leroythelion]

Originally Posted by Republic of Michigan

Amtrak announced Monday it will increase the maximum speed of its trains along a 45-mile stretch between Kalamazoo and Albion next week and restore an additional Pontiac/Detroit-Chicago Wolverine Service round trip this summer.

Basically, trains from Portage, IN to Albion can travel 110 mph. The next stretch is from Albion to Dearborn to be completed.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...an/5132486001/

I've taken this train a couple of times. Just because it *can* go 110, it doesn't mean that it *will* go 110. A significant amount of time it will be going 0 mph. "Amtrak....when you absolutely don't have to be there on time."

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by craig11152

I wonder how much time that will actually cut?
In a 45 mile stretch how many miles does it take to hit 110?
How many miles out do they have to start slowing down?
How fast are they currently going on that stretch?

Sidebar my wife will be going Ann Arbor to Chicago May 31. Tickets are $40 if you book out several days and its not a Friday or Saturday. If you wait too long to book they jump to $90.

It probably takes a few miles and several minutes to get there. I know the trains in the northeast take about eight minutes to go from stop to 125 mph with pulling an eight car set. The trains on the Michigan line aren't electrified so aren't as fast, but they also are pulling smaller sets and going up to just 110 mph instead of 125 mph, and at those speeds, aerodynamic drag becomes a pretty powerful force. The tracks were originally 90 mph limit, I believe. They likely have to slow down a few miles before the next stops, but there's only the Battle Creek stop between Kalamazoo and Albion.

Originally Posted by leroythelion

I've taken this train a couple of times. Just because it *can* go 110, it doesn't mean that it *will* go 110. A significant amount of time it will be going 0 mph. "Amtrak....when you absolutely don't have to be there on time."

One of the supposedly main improvements that the Michigan Services got funding for was actual ownership of the tracks within Michigan which means no longer being at the mercy of host railroad companies and their much slower freight trains. There was a nice handshake agreement by the freight service providers where they pinky swore they would give passenger rail services their slotted times and priority since much of these tracks and right of ways were privatized after nationalization at basement bargain prices, but unfortunately that pinky swear comes with pretty much zero teeth and the worst that Amtrak is able to do when they get screwed by one of their host carriers is a sternly worded public letter--which weirdly enough, doesn't seem to work so well.


Anyhow, the big delay on a lot of these routes is unfortunately in the areas in Chicagoland where a lot of infrastructure projects are behind and some of the tracks still owned by private entities. They're supposedly getting better and there were some projects to disentangle some of the rail lines in the area much of it under the umbrella of the CREATE program, but I don't know how the projects that involved Michigan services have progressed during the pandemic. You can probably search through to see here: https://www.createprogram.org/projects/


One thing I'd like to see is a through-running Union Station in Chicago so that some Michigan Services trains terminate in Milwaukee (via Chicago) instead. I mean, if you've got enough trainsets and staff for a certain timetable and you're shaving ten minutes here, fifteen minutes there, three minutes here, etc., then maybe just fill it on up to Milwaukee, y'know?

[Republic of Michigan]

https://welovedexter.com/2021/02/08/...ains-on-track/

With respect to the new line from Ann Arbor to Traverse City, I wonder if they can obtain money to increase the speed to 110mph instead of the proposed 60-80mph. It would cost 4 times more. Perhaps the infrastructure bill? Also, interesting to see how people in Traverse City do not really want more tourists or as they say unchecked growth.

[michigan91]

Originally Posted by Republic of Michigan

https://welovedexter.com/2021/02/08/...ains-on-track/

With respect to the new line from Ann Arbor to Traverse City, I wonder if they can obtain money to increase the speed to 110mph instead of the proposed 60-80mph. It would cost 4 times more. Perhaps the infrastructure bill? Also, interesting to see how people in Traverse City do not really want more tourists or as they say unchecked growth.

I would be shocked if the TC-A2 train makes it off the ground. At best I'd imagine that it'd be a seasonal train running in the summer months. Do you know if they intend for it to be a year-round thing?

[craig11152]

I would not want to see any tax dollars spent on an Ann Arbor to Traverse City run because I don't think the demand justifies it compared to other mass transit that is lacking.
I am not opposed to Government subsidizing mass transit but there are limits to what is prudent.

[reppin_the_847]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

It probably takes a few miles and several minutes to get there. I know the trains in the northeast take about eight minutes to go from stop to 125 mph with pulling an eight car set. The trains on the Michigan line aren't electrified so aren't as fast, but they also are pulling smaller sets and going up to just 110 mph instead of 125 mph, and at those speeds, aerodynamic drag becomes a pretty powerful force. The tracks were originally 90 mph limit, I believe. They likely have to slow down a few miles before the next stops, but there's only the Battle Creek stop between Kalamazoo and Albion.






One of the supposedly main improvements that the Michigan Services got funding for was actual ownership of the tracks within Michigan which means no longer being at the mercy of host railroad companies and their much slower freight trains. There was a nice handshake agreement by the freight service providers where they pinky swore they would give passenger rail services their slotted times and priority since much of these tracks and right of ways were privatized after nationalization at basement bargain prices, but unfortunately that pinky swear comes with pretty much zero teeth and the worst that Amtrak is able to do when they get screwed by one of their host carriers is a sternly worded public letter--which weirdly enough, doesn't seem to work so well.


Anyhow, the big delay on a lot of these routes is unfortunately in the areas in Chicagoland where a lot of infrastructure projects are behind and some of the tracks still owned by private entities. They're supposedly getting better and there were some projects to disentangle some of the rail lines in the area much of it under the umbrella of the CREATE program, but I don't know how the projects that involved Michigan services have progressed during the pandemic. You can probably search through to see here: https://www.createprogram.org/projects/


One thing I'd like to see is a through-running Union Station in Chicago so that some Michigan Services trains terminate in Milwaukee (via Chicago) instead. I mean, if you've got enough trainsets and staff for a certain timetable and you're shaving ten minutes here, fifteen minutes there, three minutes here, etc., then maybe just fill it on up to Milwaukee, y'know?

Good detailed reply, but I'm extremely doubtful that they will ever expand the Michigan lines up into Milwaukee (Wisconsin). The Hiawatha line runs frequent runs from Chicago to Milwaukee. End of the day, Chicago is the major hub & transfer point for trains in the Midwest. Therefore, I think that the Michigan lines will always end in Chicago.

According to Amtrak's future plans, however, Detroit may see a rail line that connects to Toledo (Ohio) which will allow for better connections to the long distance trains that run to the East Coast (ie. Lakeshore Limited, Capitol Limited).

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by reppin_the_847

Good detailed reply, but I'm extremely doubtful that they will ever expand the Michigan lines up into Milwaukee (Wisconsin). The Hiawatha line runs frequent runs from Chicago to Milwaukee. End of the day, Chicago is the major hub & transfer point for trains in the Midwest. Therefore, I think that the Michigan lines will always end in Chicago.

According to Amtrak's future plans, however, Detroit may see a rail line that connects to Toledo (Ohio) which will allow for better connections to the long distance trains that run to the East Coast (ie. Lakeshore Limited, Capitol Limited).

You may very well be right. My thinking on extending Michigan Services is that Wisconsin has been proposing more frequent Milwaukee-Chicago services, specifically with the Hiawatha, but I figured it'd be even nicer if some Michigan Services plied the whole length essentially acting as additional "Hiawatha" services but possibly as faster express services skipping some of the smaller stops of the Hiawatha route and meanwhile allowing for a one-seat ride between Wisconsin and Michigan.


I'd love to see both an additional Lake Shore Limited-ish and Capitol Limited-ish service daily roundtrips that head to Detroit via Toledo. It'd be nice if the time slots were offset a bit from the Chicago-bound current services as then that'd mean Cleveland and Pittsburgh, among others, might get some actual useful service as well.