MDOT outlines plan to study expanded passenger rail, aims to double frequencies on existing routes
October 30, 2025 | 2025 House Legislature MI, Michigan
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The Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Local Transportation heard from Peter Anister, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Office of Rail, on MDOT plans to develop service-development plans for existing Amtrak routes and a feasibility study for a proposed intrastate "coast-to-coast" route linking Grand Rapids, Lansing and southeast Michigan.
Anister told the committee Michigan currently has three Amtrak routes serving 22 station communities and "we serve about 700,000 passengers per year on our existing Amtrak services." He said MDOT owns about 139 miles of track between Dearborn and Kalamazoo that supports speeds up to 110 mph and that the state owns 665 miles of track in total when freight-owned segments are included.
MDOT said all three existing routes were accepted into the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Corridor Identification and Development Program (Corridor ID). Each corridor received an initial federal planning award of about $500,000 to scope service-development work. Under the Corridor ID framework MDOT described three stages: step 1 (scoping/program initiation, 100% federal-funded), step 2 (service development plan, 90% federal/10% state match) and step 3 (preliminary engineering and NEPA, 80% federal/20% local match). Anister said being in Corridor ID gives routes preference for later competitive federal grants but that construction and final design remain subject to federal competitive funding rounds.
As part of the work MDOT said it aims to increase frequencies on existing routes: the Pierre Marquette (Grand Rapids Chicago) from one to two round trips; the Blue Water (Port Huron Chicago) from one to two round trips; and the Wolverine (Oakland County/Detroit Chicago) from three to six round trips. MDOT also included reestablishing Detroit Windsor international passenger service via the CPKC freight tunnel as a possible extension of the Wolverine route.
The proposed coast-to-coast study is not part of the FRA Corridor ID program and is funded from a one-time FY24 state appropriation for intermodal capital investment grants, MDOT said. Anister said that coast-to-coast planning was added to the consultant contract that will lead the Corridor ID work so the state could evaluate intrastate options while the federal process advances. MDOT expects the coast-to-coast study to conclude in 2028 and said the Corridor ID service-development work would begin in earnest in spring of the following year, with substantial work completed over an 18-to-24-month period though some elements may continue longer.
Committee members asked about on-time performance, ridership and costs. Anister said FY25 ridership across the three routes was about 713,000 riders and that revenues are at record levels after MDOT adopted more dynamic ticket pricing in FY24. He cited construction, equipment availability, freight interference and positive train control (PTC) technical issues as primary causes of delays and said the FRA has an approximately 80% on-time threshold.
On funding and program constraints, Anister said expanding service requires both equipment (he noted long lead times roughly five years to procure new locomotives and cars) and infrastructure capacity, particularly on the southern route segments approaching Chicago where freight traffic is dense. He said MDOT currently spends about $25 million a year to support Amtrak services in Michigan and that federal rail funding generally comes from competitive grant programs rather than formula allocations.
Anister described ongoing coordination with freight railroads, including CSX (identified by the presenter as the owner of the Holland-to-Detroit segment), and stakeholder groups such as the Michigan Association of Rail Passengers. He directed the public to michigan.gov/michiganpassengerrailfuture for project updates and comment.
The subcommittee also took one brief procedural action: Representative Borton moved to adopt the minutes of the Oct. 22 meeting; the motion "prevailed by unanimous consent," the clerk recorded.
What happens next: MDOT said step 1 of Corridor ID scoping is nearing completion; service development work is expected to begin next spring. If projects are identified that require construction, MDOT would seek competitive federal grants for design and construction and provide required state/local matches as specified by the relevant funding round.
Anister told the committee Michigan currently has three Amtrak routes serving 22 station communities and "we serve about 700,000 passengers per year on our existing Amtrak services." He said MDOT owns about 139 miles of track between Dearborn and Kalamazoo that supports speeds up to 110 mph and that the state owns 665 miles of track in total when freight-owned segments are included.
MDOT said all three existing routes were accepted into the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Corridor Identification and Development Program (Corridor ID). Each corridor received an initial federal planning award of about $500,000 to scope service-development work. Under the Corridor ID framework MDOT described three stages: step 1 (scoping/program initiation, 100% federal-funded), step 2 (service development plan, 90% federal/10% state match) and step 3 (preliminary engineering and NEPA, 80% federal/20% local match). Anister said being in Corridor ID gives routes preference for later competitive federal grants but that construction and final design remain subject to federal competitive funding rounds.
As part of the work MDOT said it aims to increase frequencies on existing routes: the Pierre Marquette (Grand Rapids Chicago) from one to two round trips; the Blue Water (Port Huron Chicago) from one to two round trips; and the Wolverine (Oakland County/Detroit Chicago) from three to six round trips. MDOT also included reestablishing Detroit Windsor international passenger service via the CPKC freight tunnel as a possible extension of the Wolverine route.
The proposed coast-to-coast study is not part of the FRA Corridor ID program and is funded from a one-time FY24 state appropriation for intermodal capital investment grants, MDOT said. Anister said that coast-to-coast planning was added to the consultant contract that will lead the Corridor ID work so the state could evaluate intrastate options while the federal process advances. MDOT expects the coast-to-coast study to conclude in 2028 and said the Corridor ID service-development work would begin in earnest in spring of the following year, with substantial work completed over an 18-to-24-month period though some elements may continue longer.
Committee members asked about on-time performance, ridership and costs. Anister said FY25 ridership across the three routes was about 713,000 riders and that revenues are at record levels after MDOT adopted more dynamic ticket pricing in FY24. He cited construction, equipment availability, freight interference and positive train control (PTC) technical issues as primary causes of delays and said the FRA has an approximately 80% on-time threshold.
On funding and program constraints, Anister said expanding service requires both equipment (he noted long lead times roughly five years to procure new locomotives and cars) and infrastructure capacity, particularly on the southern route segments approaching Chicago where freight traffic is dense. He said MDOT currently spends about $25 million a year to support Amtrak services in Michigan and that federal rail funding generally comes from competitive grant programs rather than formula allocations.
Anister described ongoing coordination with freight railroads, including CSX (identified by the presenter as the owner of the Holland-to-Detroit segment), and stakeholder groups such as the Michigan Association of Rail Passengers. He directed the public to michigan.gov/michiganpassengerrailfuture for project updates and comment.
The subcommittee also took one brief procedural action: Representative Borton moved to adopt the minutes of the Oct. 22 meeting; the motion "prevailed by unanimous consent," the clerk recorded.
What happens next: MDOT said step 1 of Corridor ID scoping is nearing completion; service development work is expected to begin next spring. If projects are identified that require construction, MDOT would seek competitive federal grants for design and construction and provide required state/local matches as specified by the relevant funding round.
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