State Plans to Shorten Detroit-Chicago Amtrak Trip By About 2 Hours

September 15, 2014, 6:35 AM

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Anyone who takes the train from Detroit to Chicago regularly has probably experienced delays, and realized they can probably drive quicker.

That is expected to change.

Gary Heinlein of The Detroit News reports that the state has plans to purchase, with federal dollars, two sets of plusher cars and engines that will speed up service in a few years between Chicago and Detroit by around two hours, and improve on-time service. It currently takes about 6 1/2 hours for that journey, and authorities want to knock it down to about 4. 

Officials hope to improve Amtrak's on-time service from as low as 6.5 percent to as high as 52.3 percent in July.

State lawmakers had delayed the purchase for a while after they questioned a one-bid contract awarded to a Spanish firm for “next-generation” passenger cars. But after a probe into the matter, lawmakers have now decided that the company is the best candidate, The News reports.

The $58 million for Michigan’s two train sets is to come from $200 million in federal funds for Amtrak improvements in Michigan and other states, mostly in the Midwest. The move to the faster trains is expected to give a boost to the Detroit-Chicago route, where ridership steadily has been building back toward a 20-year peak of nearly 504,000 passengers in 2010.

Down the road, the state will use additional federal money for more “next-generation” passenger car and engine sets, said Michigan Department of Transportation railroad chief Tim Hoeffner. The state will own the cars and the Michigan rails on the Detroit-Chicago route for now.


Read more:  The Detroit News


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