By SAMUEL BLATCHFORD
Capital News Service
LANSING – Michigan will seek aid from Washington to help cover costs for repair work on rail bridges from a new $2.3 billion federal fund designed to improve passenger train service.
It would cost an estimated $20 – $25 million to fix four rail bridges used by Amtrak between Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, according to Peter Anastor, the director of the state Transportation Department’s Office of Rail.
The department is still determining what other rail grants it will apply for by the April 21 deadline, he said.
The new federal program allows states to apply for grants to establish new intercity passenger and high-speed rail services, as well as upgrade rail corridors.
Amtrak offers three passenger routes in Michigan: The Wolverine between Pontiac and Chicago, the Pere Marquette between Grand Rapids and Chicago and the Blue Water between Port Huron and Chicago.
Amtrak currently operates three trains daily in each direction on the Wolverine between Chicago and Pontiac.
Some transportation-related organizations in Michigan have other concerns as well.
Steven Vagnozzi, the government affairs coordinator for the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, said the organization supports keeping infrastructure reliable but also wants future improvements for the Amtrak rail system.
“In addition to maintaining existing infrastructure, we want to look at both increased services and additional destinations,” Vagnozzi said.
Frequency is an issue, he said, and hourly service between Chicago and Detroit would be an improvement, something he called “the most optimistic proposal.”
“Sold-out trains are frequent on weekends,” he said.
Laura Kliewer, the director of the Illinois-based Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission, also voiced concerns about availability and frequency of train routes in Michigan.
Michigan has a long list of future rail plans ,according to Kliewer, one of which is to increase frequency on the Blue Water, Wolverine and Pere Marquette routes.
“The more frequencies you have, the more people take (the train). If you can better pick your time when you want to go, then you are more likely to take the train than if there’s just one a day,” she said.
Next on the list, she said, would be adding a service to Toledo and Cleveland from Detroit, as well as between Toronto and Detroit.
The rail passenger advocacy group is also pressing for improved sidings so freight trains can better yield to Amtrak trains. Passing sides are additional tracks that allow a train to allow another train to pass.
The state would like to see expanded service and increased frequency but there is insufficient equipment and funding, Anastor said.
Anastor said that the Legislature and governor would need to address long-term funding to expand passenger service across the state.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Feb. 8. 2023, to clarify that MDOT will seek a federal grant to cover only part of the cost of repairing the four railroad bridges and may apply for federal aid for other passenger rail projects.