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
21 December 2024
- Why the intermodal market is in a ‘long peak’ right now - FreightWaves
- Rail News - NTSB investigating fatal train derailment in Texas. For Railroad Career Professionals - Progressive Rail Roading
- Opened in 1860: The railroad crossing at New Dorp | Then and Now - SILive.com
- SMART-TD union announces the passage of the Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness Act (REEF) - Smart Union
- Massillon train tradition chugs along for the next generation at Whittier Elementary - Massillon Independent
- Pa. to spend $55 million on 30 rail freight improvement projects - PennLive
- Railroad crossing shut down to investigate safety after driver’s death, Macon mayor says - Macon Telegraph
- Kansas railroads receive $13 million investment - KSNT News
- IMCs dealing with rail service disruptions amid unusually high volumes - JOC.com
- Witness calls for permanent intersection closure after fatal accident on Tucker-Forsyth railroad crossing - 13WMAZ.com
- Preserving history through model railroads in Cumberland County - AOL
- Your Mileage With ‘Railroads Online’ Will Vary Based on Your Creativity (Review) - VICE
- Railroads head into 2025 with headcount momentum to support growth: Analysis - TRAINS Magazine
- Route 6N Railroad Bridge Project - Governor Tom Wolf
- Norfolk Southern working to repair Appalachian railroads damaged during Helene - WSOC Charlotte
