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
- Opinion | A devastating train tragedy is clouding JD Vance’s judgment - The Washington Post
- Atlanta is at the center of a railroad merger with big economic implications - AJC.com
- 8 Charming Old Railroad Towns In Missouri - WorldAtlas
- Model railroad show draws enthusiasts despite snowy weather - news8000.com
- Railroad work leads to Upstate road closure - wspa.com
- STB declines to intervene on Meridian Speedway dispute - Journal of Commerce
- Model railroad show enters 38th year in Harrisburg - ABC27
- STB denies UP and NS requests to probe CPKC service on the Meridian Speedway - trains.com
- Shippers and Railroads Comment on STB Reciprocal Switching Rule Proposal - DTN Progressive Farmer
- Railroads and shippers weigh in on STB’s plan to boost rail competition - trains.com
- Montana’s Izaak Walton Inn For Sale - Railfan & Railroad Magazine
- When ‘Safety’ Bills Don’t Make Railroads Safer - Daily Courier
- Proposed Rail Merger Comes at Farmers’ Expense - Northern Ag Network
- East Nashville woman petitions for Railroad Quiet Zone feasibility study - WKRN News 2
- Positive direction, no finger pointing sought in reopening of Nebraska’s Underground Railroad site - Nebraska Examiner
