  Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 452 Registered: 12-2006 |
I remember hearing, earlier in the year, that SEMCOG was going to try to get some kind of "pilot program" going between Ann Arbor and Detroit using the existing Amtrak lines but putting in a few more trains a day and maybe a couple more stations. Anyone know where that is right now? | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3005 Registered: 02-2005 |
No announcements. In January, the main Amtrak spokesman in Chicago told me that they were negotiating with Norfolk Southern, and that it wasn't clear if the Detroit station would be the New Center depot or something new downtown. I think this service will either begin or be announced to begin by late this coming fall. Amtrak did recently change the timing of their existing services, perhaps experimenting with different passing times. Having been on the train a bit lately, I will say that in a few spots there is clearly work on the rails going on. I think they may want some rail upgrades in the C of D before offering commuter services. | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 5658 Registered: 10-2003 |
There hasn't been much recent news on the Ann Arbor-Detroit line: http://www.mlive.com/news/anna rbornews/index.ssf?/base/news- 22/117552485465390.xml&coll=2 But there has been many recent articles on the Ann Arbor-Livingston County rail: http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.d ll/article?AID=/20070520/NEWS0 1/705200371/1001/news http://www.mlive.com/news/anna rbornews/index.ssf?/base/news- 22/1177598486322120.xml&coll=2 http://www.lansingstatejournal .com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID =2007704270338 | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 454 Registered: 12-2006 |
Mackinaw, The Detroit station has to be New Center. There aren't any railroad tracks going into downtown anymore, and nobody has any money to build new tracks, at least so far as I can tell. Thanks for the update. Professor Scott | ||
Rbdetsport Member Username: Rbdetsport Post Number: 285 Registered: 11-2005 |
How can people have the money to build a railroad across the United States in the 1820s, but not now? LACK OF AMBITION | ||
Hans57 Member Username: Hans57 Post Number: 158 Registered: 05-2006 |
Andrew Carnegie and his coal monopoly. Plus, no one was on the land at that point in history. I would say the ambition is here, there's just shit in the way. | ||
Dannaroo Member Username: Dannaroo Post Number: 68 Registered: 05-2006 |
I know this is probably 100% unrelated (because I don't think Amtrak will be managing the proposed commuter line) but I went on to Amtrak's website last week to check prices from Birmingham to Chicago and the prices were about a quarter to a third of what they were last year around this time... I still ended up getting my ticket through Megabus though. I just thought that maybe Amtrak was trying to get their pricing more in line to what the shorter trips will cost when the commuter lines are functioning. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3008 Registered: 02-2005 |
It depends on your definition of downtown. Michigan Central Station is still there. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3009 Registered: 02-2005 |
Dannaroo, I don't think so. It has been costing 11-15 dollars between A2 and Detroit, but the proposed commuter line will aim for half of this. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1153 Registered: 10-2006 |
"How can people have the money to build a railroad across the United States in the 1820s, but not now? LACK OF AMBITION" How about a lack of demand??? | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 456 Registered: 12-2006 |
Michigan Central is more than 2 miles from Hart Plaza. It is also not in useable shape. The existing station, which is the only one they have considered using, is 3.5 miles from Hart Plaza. So as I said, there is no train station downtown. By any reasonable definition, 2 miles from the center of downtown is not downtown. So as far as we can tell, there have been no updates in nearly six months? | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3010 Registered: 02-2005 |
Don't get me wrong, I think the New Center stop is fine, and having a station near midtown is important. Ideally, we should have both. Above ground tracks currently extend all the way to Porter St. one block west of Rosa Parks, 1.5 miles west of Campus Martius. Here's where it gets interesting, though: the west riverfront is a blank slate, and I don't think it would be a huge engineering feat to build new tracks above where the trails currently dip underground south of Porter. These new tracks can then extend alongside W. Jefferson and lead to a station in a new convention center. That is all long-run talk; we can be sure that the demonstration line will utilize the New Center station. | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 458 Registered: 12-2006 |
Mackinaw, It is no engineering feat at all, just an expense  I like your idea. Prof. Scott | ||
Applesauce Member Username: Applesauce Post Number: 40 Registered: 06-2007 |
Man that would be great! I drive from Harper Woods (7 & Mack) to A2 every day for work. I wonder what the cost of a yearly pass would be? I can just see it, a short drive to the train station downtown, board the train & sip coffee while someone else does the driving! | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 460 Registered: 12-2006 |
Applesauce, Better still, leave the car parked at your crib; the Mack Ave. bus runs about every half hour, then when you get to Woodward take the DDOT #53 bus the mile and a half north to the train station - the Woodward runs every six or eight minutes. Prof. Scott | ||
Applesauce Member Username: Applesauce Post Number: 41 Registered: 06-2007 |
Nice! Maybe I could sell that car, save on gas & insurance! I wonder if they would have an early morning train? | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 6080 Registered: 02-2004 |
It would take a lots of bureaucratic approval for light rail transit to happen in Metro-Detroit area. In the meantime there will lots of UAW, AFL and CIO lobbying at lansing to stop light rail transit from coming to Detroit. | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 461 Registered: 12-2006 |
How did "light rail transit" get into this thread? We are talking about a commuter-type service using existing freight tracks. At least that's what I was talking about when I started the thread. | ||
Higgs1634 Member Username: Higgs1634 Post Number: 116 Registered: 10-2005 |
"...Plus, no one was on the land at that point in history..." I think a few native american tribes may differ with that assessment. | ||
Scs100 Member Username: Scs100 Post Number: 1139 Registered: 12-2006 |
quote: Technically, there already is an early morning train. If you can get in at 9:00ish, you could take Amtrak from Detroit to Ann Arbor. The only problem would be coming back since it comes back really late (7:00ish I believe). | ||
Kslice Member Username: Kslice Post Number: 70 Registered: 04-2007 |
To have any of this light rail work there need to be a way to get AROUND downtown, not just TO it. The DPM is the only solution. The train could come into the New Center station then connect with the DPM to go downtown. the track could run right down woodward so the DPM could also take you to Wayne State or anything else in between. The only time it gets real ridership now is when there's something big going on in the city. other than that it's useless. Extending the DPM could be the start of a great mass transit improvment. Canadian cities make this same train work for them, why cant we? (Message edited by k-slice on June 19, 2007) | ||
Transitrider Member Username: Transitrider Post Number: 11 Registered: 01-2007 |
Applesauce, yes, the idea is to have it run a commuter-friendly schedule, with a few trips each way during commute times, as well as some daytime and evening runs. (Obviously, the more the better, but it will probably evolve over time.) You can actually make the commute now, as I did for several months last year. I took the 351 in the morning, leaving Detroit at 7:20 arriving Ann Arbor at 8:23, and then taking AATA to my work. I took the 352 back in the evening, which last year left at 6:40pm but now leaves at 5:40, which is great. The morning trip was rarely delayed by freight traffic as there was less time from Pontiac to AA for things to get off schedule. In the evenings I would call my girlfriend Julie at 1-800-USA-RAIL, and she would tell me if my ride was late. If it was late coming from Chicago, then some days I just worked later, other days I had another pint at Casey's (across from the AA station). Amtrak ticket prices are like airlines: they go up as the train fills. Fridays and Sundays are most expensive because of weekend trips to/from Chicago. The Hot Deals/Weekly Specials link on Amtrak.com has good prices, and is good for getting an advance (or last-minute if you buy online and pickup at the station) ticket for the lowest possible rate. AAA, StudentAdvantage or NARP membership adds a discount for 3+ days in advance purchases. To get a decent price without having to commit to specific days, I bought 10-ride packs. You get 10 rides locked in at $8 or $9 per one-way (Det-AA) trip, and just have to use them within 45 days. I usually worked on my laptop on the way, but sometimes watched a DVD or read or took a nap. If I was working then I actually made money on the trip, as my paycheck exceded my expense. Driving myself does not allow that benefit. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3013 Registered: 02-2005 |
Applesauce, now that is a haul. I don't have the attention span for that drive when I go between my parents' house and school. You would benefit a lot from such a line. It's a quick drive down 94 to New Center. I also think that the line would increase midtown density a ton; a lot of people from the outer reaches of Detroit who work in A2, Ypsi, or Dearborn would consolidate in midtown/new center near the station. Let's not forget that New Center/Midtown has so many major employers like Henry Ford, Wayne State, Fisher Bldg. stuff, Detroit Public Schools/State of Michigan, and soon, a biodiesel plant right on the tracks just east of Woodward. Odds are at least a few Ann Arborites work in here. They may have been okay with the drive for a while, but I'm sure it gets annoying and expensive. | ||
Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 872 Registered: 09-2005 |
Kslice, these will be Amtrak-type trains (heavy commuter rail) not electrified subway-type trains or light rail vehicles. Running such trains down Woodward would not be considered (although this could theoretically happen as there are some American towns with freight rails running on town streets -- on a road as busy as Woodward it would be deadly). That being said, Vancouver is using peoplemover-type technology to build a (mostly) elevated line from its airport to the city's downtown. A DPM branch extension (i.e. not part of the current loop) down Woodward to the new center station could be feasible. However, such an idea would be premised on keeping the current new centre Amshack. (Message edited by upinottawa on June 19, 2007) | ||
Danindc Member Username: Danindc Post Number: 2695 Registered: 10-2003 |
^Actually, even calling it an "Amtrak-type train" is a stretch. Commuter rail cars are not designed to provide the creature comforts necessary in long-distance intercity service. I write this so that no one is surprised when you don't have the legroom, cushioning, snack cars, luggage racks, or electrical outlets that you have on Amtrak. If you've ridden Chicago's Metra or something similar, this is what you can expect for the Ann Arbor-Detroit line. | ||
Applesauce Member Username: Applesauce Post Number: 43 Registered: 06-2007 |
Wow, I didnt know such a thing existed at this time. I work 8am-6pm M-F near Webers Inn. Hmmm.......... | ||
Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 873 Registered: 09-2005 |
The use of "Amtrak-type" was an attempt to express the fact the trains will be heavy rail commuter trains rather than light rail vehicles. Of course, the cars themselves will be more functional than comfortable. | ||
Scs100 Member Username: Scs100 Post Number: 1140 Registered: 12-2006 |
quote: Actually, the commuter trains in Boston use the same type of equipment as Amtrak does. But that is out of the norm, as you stated. |
