Thanks to overwhelming support by all most local officials, plans, which have been discussed in the past may come to fruition as early as the end of this year! The reality of linking Ann Arbor and Detroit with a commuter train service is getting closer!

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and Michigan Department of Transportation are taking charge of the “Ann Arbor-to-Detroit Regional Rail Project”. For the first three years, the rail line will be a “demonstration project,” intended to obtain more detailed information about ridership projections and costs. If the data shows high enough interest in the rail at the end of that period, the project will become a higher priority to receive Federal Transit Authority “New Starts” grant money. Funding for the project initially, at an estimated cost of $60 million to $80 million in capital costs and another $8 million to $10 million per year in operating costs beyond what’s collected from riders

Because the tracks are already in place, the initial investment is much lower than it has been for similar projects in other regions, in the coming months, new sidings will be laid, which allow trains to wait on the sidetrack while trains with the right-of-way can pass.

Stops are scheduled for Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Metro Airport, Dearborn and Detroit’s New Center area. The respective transportation authorities are planning to adjust bus routes around the train schedules to quickly transport passengers closer to their destinations. It’s expected to take about 50 minutes to travel from Ann Arbor to Detroit via the commuter train.

So far, no price structure has been developed. Initially, the train will make four roundtrip runs on weekdays and three trips on weekend days. For the first 18 months, the current Amtrak Station on Depot Street will serve as the Ann Arbor stop until the city can complete construction of a large “intermodal hub” next to the University of Michigan Medical Center campus on Fuller Road.

This is excellent news for Ann Arbor and supports the idea that the economy in Ann Arbor is stable and that it is a city on the grow – and a top relocation destination!

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