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
12 June 2025
- Railroads Still Looking to Overturn Virginia Crossing Law - Broadband Breakfast
- Union Pacific employee died while working on Nacogdoches railroad - Tyler Morning Telegraph
- Extreme heat threatens railroads with connectivity and ridership loss in the United States - Nature
- Rusty railroad bridge in Ashtabula raises safety concerns: Here's what we found - WKYC
- Railroad crossing closed - huntingdondailynews.com
- U.S. weekly rail traffic dips below 2024 level - trains.com
- Museum Preserving ‘Last Logging’ Road Offering Excursions - Railfan & Railroad Magazine
- Tracks through time: Discovering railroad history - The Lakeville Journal
- Roadtrippin' 2025: Railroad explains travel opportunities for tourists and Alaskans alike - Alaska's News Source
- Colebrookdale Railroad brings a bygone era to life - 6abc Philadelphia
- Railroad crossing changes coming to Montana Avenue, after all - Montana Free Press
- Voter approved SPLOST funding could help build bridge over President Street railroad tracks - WTOC
- Union Pacific says employee killed at railroad crossing - KTRE
- Looking back in Benzie: Ann Arbor Railroad merges with Wabash system - Benzie County Record Patriot
- Crews keep railways in good shape - wilsontimes.com
