THE STATE of Michigan has reached an agreement with Norfolk Southern to acquire the 217km Kalamazoo - Ann Arbor - Dearborn line in a move that will secure the future of Amtrak services between Chicago and Detroit. The $US 140m purchase was funded with the aid of a Federal Railroad Administration grant and will pave the way for the upgrading of the route for 177km/h operation.

The line is used by three daily Amtrak Wolverine services which link Chicago with Detroit and Pontiac. However in recent months these services have suffered heavy delays due to the deteriorating condition of track and signalling. This stems from the expiry in 1996 of Amtrak's 25 year level of utility agreement with the freight railways, which guaranteed 1971 journey times would be maintained. With low freight volumes giving the line's owner little incentive to invest, Amtrak has been left to choose between paying for maintenance and reducing speeds.

The Wolverine carried a record 480,000 passengers in the 2010 financial year, and performance is expected to exceed that figure by 13% this year. Amtrak plans to upgrade the line to allow 177km/h operation on 80% of the route between Chicago and Detroit, reducing journey times by up to 30 minutes. $US 350m in Federal funding has already been allocated to the upgrade.

 

Amtrak already owns the 156km section between Porter, Indiana, and Kalamazoo, which means passenger trains will have priority on a 373km stretch of the 489km Chicago - Pontiac route.

In preparation for the launch of 177km/h operation, the Incremental Train Control System (ITCS) is currently being tested west of Kalamazoo and will eventually be rolled out along the whole Porter - Dearborn section.

 

Photo:M. D. Woods-deWitt