Safety precautions clear the way for faster trains

Fast trains for the region are on track.

The first expansion of regional high speed rail outside the Amtrak-owned Northeast corridor has been approved.

Federal permits allowing passenger train speeds up to 110 mph have come through after a train safety control system on Amtrak-owned track from Kalamazoo to Porter, Ind. had been installed and tested.

The trains that use this corridor are the Amtrak Wolverine Service--with three daily round-trips between Pontiac and Chicago via Detroit and Ann Arbor--and the Amtrak Blue Water--with daily rides between Port Huron and Chicago via East Lansing.

Installation of the safety system, named the Incremental Train Control System, in Southwest Michigan clears the way for the expansion of 110 mph service from Kalamazoo to near Dearborn. MDOT said in October that Norfolk Southern Railway (NSR) agreed to sell 135-mile segment of railroad track between Kalamazoo and Dearborn. The $140 million purchase was made possible through Federal Railroad Administration grant funds, which includes an affordable state match.

Amtrak has raised speeds on the corridor three times between 2001 and 2005. Trains began running at 95 mph in 2005. Sustained operations at 110 mph will shave 10 minutes from scheduled runs.

The faster trains are being scheduled in response to changing demographics and growing interest in passenger rail service, MDOT says.

"Our state put the world on wheels and continues to be a leading transportation innovator," says MDOT State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle.

Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Janet Foran, MDOT; Marc Magliari, Amtrak