railroad

NTSB issues recommendations after railroad accidents in Michigan and illinois.

The Associated Press — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 22:09:35 +0000

NILES, Mich. (AP) - Federal officials say railroad accidents last year in Michigan and Illinois were caused by workers not following required safety precautions.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that both the Feb. 28 accident in Madison, Ill., and the Oct. 21 accident near the southwestern Michigan city of Niles involved signal maintenance operations. It issued recommendations to address the improper use of jumper wires during maintenance and repairs.

Amtrak Wolverine train jumps rails near Niles

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:14:42 +0000

An Amtrak passenger train bound for Detroit derailed Sunday morning near Niles, MI.

The train cars, carrying 174 passengers and 4 crew members, stayed upright and remained in line with each other despite jumping the rails.

From the Detroit Free Press:

History of Amtrak rolling into Jackson this weekend

Steve Carmody — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:01:01 +0000

Jackson will be the place to be this weekend for Amtrak aficionados.

The national passenger rail service is marking its 40^th anniversary this year. This weekend, Amtrak is bringing a rolling museum of its four decade history to Jackson’s rail road station.

Fast train to somewhere

Jack Lessenberry — Wed, 11 May 2011 17:00:56 +0000

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/michigan/local-michigan-968171.mp3

We’ve had so much bad news for so long it’s sometimes hard to absorb when something goes right. But it did this week, when the federal government awarded Michigan $200 million dollars to improve railroad service between Detroit and Chicago.

Michigan may get more federal money for high speed rail

Steve Carmody — Mon, 09 May 2011 05:01:01 +0000

The future of passenger rail service in Michigan may take a big leap forward today. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation will be in Detroit this afternoon for an announcement concerning “high speed rail."

Michigan’s been down this track before. State transportation officials had high hopes last year when the Obama administration planned to invest billions of dollars in developing high speed rail projects across the country.

State officials lobbied hard for the federal government to upgrade the rail link between Detroit and Chicago, so trains could travel between the two cities at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. But, while the administration designated billions of dollars for projects in Illinois, California and Florida. Michigan only received a small amount of money to upgrade some Amtrak stations.

But, Florida’s new governor decided his state didn’t want the two billion dollars the Obama administration was offering. It appears Michigan and New York may end up splitting the money. We’ll find out specifics later today.

Florida’s not the first state to say “no” to federal high speed rail money. Wisconsin and Ohio also declined.

Amtrak reported last month that ridership is rising on all three passenger rail lines it operates in Michigan.