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
16 February 2025
- What's Happening: Underground Railroad Presentation in Peoria - 25 News Now
- Right on track: Researchers use new tech to improve railroad safety - UNM Newsroom
- They’ve been working on the railroad … rail jobs substantial in Mass. - MassLive.com
- Fight over the Royal Gorge helped determine Colorado’s railroad future - Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
- Local service still a sticking point for Class I railroads - Yahoo Finance
- $13M in federal funding brings Elmwood Park railroad crossing project closer to reality - FOX 32 Chicago
- Railroad Commission Approves Waste Disposal Site Despite Environmental Concerns - Железнодорожный журнал «Railway Supply»
- Amtrak and Private Sector Partners Join to Rebuild America's Railroad and Delivery Company's Biggest Ever Infrastructure Investments - Amtrak Media
- Railroads shut out of 250 best-managed companies list - TRAINS Magazine
- Railroads Recognized on ‘Best Large Employers’ List - RailwayAge Magazine
- Uneven outlook continues on US railroads - WorldCargo News
- Police investigate after finding remains near railroad tracks - KOLO
- New York Central Railroad Company | American Railway History & Expansion - Britannica
- Civ 7: Economic Victory Walkthrough - GameRant
- SUV, stuck on railroad tracks due to the snow, was hit by a train on Saturday in Boulder County - Denver 7 Colorado News