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
17 September 2024
- Railroads Love ‘Monster’ Trains. Texans Don’t. - The Wall Street Journal
- Railroads and regulators must address the dangers of long trains, report says - The Hill
- Hearing focuses on turning around the rail industry’s growth problem - TRAINS Magazine
- The Privatized US Rail System Is a Disaster. A New Report Makes Case for a Public Takeover - Common Dreams
- Historic Railroad Dining Cars Moving to Abilene - KSAL
- Proposed project seeks to eliminate three railroad crossings in downtown Kalamazoo - WWMT-TV
- Union Pacific’s BIG BOY To Pass Through On September 17th - inForney.com
- A hidden relic from Raleigh’s past: the 1883 railroad turntable, shown from above - Raleigh News & Observer
- 8 railroad rides to enjoy this fall - NEWS10 ABC
- Why this massive rail company believes hydrogen could be the future of train travel - Fast Company
- Railroads and regulators must address the dangers of long trains, report says - Yahoo! Voices
- Galesburg City Council makes decision on Railroad Crossing Elimination Program application - KWQC
- Alaska by Rail Day outing Day 9 — The Alaska Railroad shops - TRAINS Magazine
- Kalamazoo could close 3 downtown railroad crossings - MLive.com
- Bristow City Council rescinds decision on railroad crossing - 2 News Oklahoma KJRH Tulsa
