Ann Arbor-Detroit Commuter Rail

[GLC 392]

SLOW!!!

[PerRock]

According to the Nov. Update MDOT is buying the Michigan Line between K-zoo & Dearborn. Its about the only piece of news for this month they have online.

peter

[nssd70m-2]

According to the Nov. Update MDOT is buying the Michigan Line between K-zoo & Dearborn. Its about the only piece of news for this month they have online.

peter

From what i heard from a railroad employee they bought it from kzoo and Wayne.

[Ben Higdon]

I wonder how NS managed to unload it? Maybe with the planned "high speed" upgrade, NS laid down the law: if you want to do this, you're going to have to buy it.

[TrainWatcher]

Really??? Wow, I have to say congrats to MDOT on this one. IF thats true, then can I would say the Detroit Version of Metra maybe only a few years away. But here's where I see a few problems.

-Trackage. Needs a minor upgrade and also the single track sections aren't going to work if the line wants to be properous.
-Personnel. Will they be hiring soon??
-Fares. Gotta keep it reasonable for those who want to use it.
-Pormotion. They are gonna need to do as much if not more advertising than Metra does in Chicago.
-Stations. Gonna need a few and here are some locations. Inkster, Wayne (Hannon Road?), Canton, Belleville, Ypsi (Depot Town Station?), Huron River Park?, etc.

Now with getting Wayne, does that mean MDOT build a locomotive service facility there? There is the room possible also, it might be kinda interesting with Ford Wayne Plant coming on line and the NS Jobs trying to get around the commuter trains.

At any rate, Bravo to MDOT.

[John Ryan]

You are forgetting the single largest problem - MONEY. If the state had any, they'd already be running the commuter service. Everything else is details, despite how incompetent and unprepared the commuter train planners have shown themselves to be.

[GLC 392]

John hit it on the nail head, to my knowledge there has yet to be one passenger car completely completed, two are really close and others are not to far behind but i was told something with funding slowed up a bit so i wouldn't expect to see the other F59's any time soon even though they were on the plant floor not to long ago getting readied to be sent across the border. Hope they get some funding soon as GLC put on a second shift and hired quite a few people for this project.

[OwlCaboose2853]

Obstacles, funding questions plague Ann Arbor-Detroit rail line, but progress is being made, planners say http://www.annarbor.com/news/ypsilanti/ ... ects-roll/

[MDH]

Obstacles, funding questions plague Ann Arbor-Detroit rail line, but progress is being made, planners say http://www.annarbor.com/news/ypsilanti/ ... ects-roll/

I LOL'd at this comment on the article:

Peter Jameson at 6:05 PM on May 4, 2011

I hope this train has a stop right in the roughest part of detroit, because i bet people from ann arbor love to see places like that.