Today's Railroads in Michigan...
Railroads in Michigan are almost 200 years old, beginning in 1836 and reaching their peak in trackage about 1916. Since that time, each year has seen abandonments and reduced passenger and freight traffic, all coinciding with the deindustialization of Michigan's major cities and a move of passenger to airlines and automobiles. A majority of Michigan railroad lines have disappeared in the last 100 years.
Today, the railroad operations which are left generally fit into one of these six categories:
- Overhead freight/intermodal traffic from Sarnia to the Chicago area via the Port Huron tunnel and Battle Creek on the CN
- Overhead freight/intermodal traffic from Windsor through the tunnel and on NS trackage rights towards Chicago by the CP
- Automobile and auto parts traffic from the Detroit area to points southeast, south and west on the NS, CSX and CN
- Iron ore taconite transport from the Marquette iron range to docks and all-rail shipments to a few steel mills
- Unit trains of coal, grain and sugar beets to power plants, agri-businesses and sugar processing plants near Bay City
- Amtrak passenger trains to and from Chicago, Detroit, Port Huron and Grand Rapids
- The remainding branch lines throughout the state carry only 1-2 freight trains per day each way mostly on shortline railroads
This website is divided into two sections. Today's Railroads features current railroad operation including links to Michigan's operating railroads. The RRHX Railroad History section features almost 200 years of past railroads, from the establishment of the Erie & Kalamazoo railroad in 1836 to today.
Image info: Canadian National track maintenance crews weld a rail repair at Tappan, near Port Huron. [Dan Meinhard]
Newsfeed from Google: Railroads
News Feed - Railroads
27 April 2024
- BNSF becomes 2nd major railroad to sign on to anonymous federal safety hotline for some workers - The Associated Press
- Judge nixes lawsuit challenging Virginia law on broadband crossings of railroads - Cardinal News
- This Train CEO Isn't Ruthless Enough for Activist Investors - Bloomberg
- Milwaukee Street closure for railroad crossing upgrade, April 26-29 - Idaho News
- Why do buses stop at railroad tracks if trains haven’t used them in years? - OCRegister
- Union Pacific's first-quarter profit creeps up 1% as railroad limits expenses - Yahoo Finance
- New Longmont train app alerts users to blockages at a key crossing - Longmont Times-Call
- Train, car collision in Las Cruces shuts down railroad crossings - KFOX El Paso
- Rail News - U.S. freight-rail traffic ticks up in Week 16. For Railroad Career Professionals - Progressive Rail Roading
- BNSF becomes 2nd major railroad to sign on to anonymous federal safety hotline for some workers - KHON2
- Newly repainted Western Pacific locomotive to fill gap at Utah State Railroad Museum - Standard-Examiner
- Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum to host National Train Day event May 4 - KCENTV.com
- TGS Cedar Port Railroad hitches its future to Texas industrial park's growth - RailPrime | ProgressiveRailroading - Progressive Rail Roading
- How the Illinois Central Railroad helped develop the Midwest - WILL News - Illinois Public Media
- Helena Railroad Fair opens Sunday fostering communication - Independent Record