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
- Vermont’s Green Mountain Railroad receives federal assistance for 2023 flood damage - trains.com
- Competing agendas collide as Eagle County, lawmakers weigh in on massive railroad merger - VailDaily.com
- New family train ride brings Moffat railroad history to life - SkyHiNews.com
- Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad nears millionth passenger mark - The Derrick
- DOT unveils plan to turn highways, rail lines into multi‑use utility arteries - freightwaves.com
- Rail News - U.S. freight railroads report increased traffic in week 34. For Railroad Career Professionals - Progressive Railroading
- West Virginia railroads evaluate federal plan to use right-of-ways for utility lines - WCHS
- Chicago residents in Bridgeport, Chinatown push back on proposed Amtrak maintenance facility as railroad shares new details - ABC7 Chicago
- Stalled train blocks railroad crossings in Salem - WKBN.com
- These WMass neighbors hope long-awaited railroad ‘flyover’ won’t disrupt homes, businesses - MassLive.com
- New Delaware Public Archives Exhibit Explores How Railroads Transformed the First State - State of Delaware News (.gov)
- Construction Alert: Replacement of Two Railroad Crossings - easthartfordct.gov
- Closure Scheduled on S.D. Highway 11 Near Canton for Railroad Crossing Improvement Project - South Dakota State News (.gov)
- DOT proposes streamlining land leases along roads, railroads for utility use - Trucking Dive
- Less Risk. Proven Performance. A Better Way to Install Guard Rails - Railway Age
