After months of construction on the Amtrak route between Detroit and Chicago, service has returned to normal, just in time for the upcoming holiday season.
Three round-trip trains per day have been restored on the Wolverine line. In addition, 10 extra trains will be added during the Thanksgiving holiday week on the Wolverine and Pere Marquette lines, Amtrak announced, with service Nov. 23, 25 and 27.
Major construction, along 41 miles of track in Jackson and Calhoun counties, inconvenienced train passengers this summer and fall, but it achieved its goal of installing 26,000 new railroad ties, repairing or installing 15 track switches, realigning or modifying 29 railroad curves, repairing 23 railroad grade crossings and improving road profiles at crossings.
The construction caused Wolverine line ridership and revenues to fall in the just-ended 2016 fiscal year (October 2015-September 2016). Ridership was 411,625 on the Wolverine line, down 11.6% from the 2015 fiscal year. Revenue was $17.8 million, down 6.4% from the 2015 fiscal year.
The improvements are part of Michigan's Accelerated Rail Program. Its goal is to improve smoothness of the ride and reliability, in addition to creating sections of the trip where the trains can go 110 mph on the route.
