RailRoadFan.com

The Ann Arbor to Traverse City passenger rail service begins operating on weekend excursions in spring 2021!
https://m.facebook.com/ClareCountyMichi ... _tn__=EH-R

Ha I highly doubt it. I did read that earlier. Just like Mi train, until the first train actually moves I’m not holding my breath.

This should also probably be in the Michigan section of the page instead of the train location section.

Decent video at this link: https://www.groundworkcenter.org/projects/a2tc/

Interesting posters above from GLC391 being optimistic and GLC392 not as much.. only one engine number apart!

The trains between San Yard and Durand run 10 mph tops and rock all over the place now. There is still the matter of a reversing move at Selma Yard in Cadillac. The line from Walton Junction to TC got work recently, but it still isn't better than Class 2. These are just a few of the issues right off the bat.

The tracks have all been approved for 60MPH passenger service. Kind of doubt it and when did they install PTC?

90,000 students live along the line. CMU's 2019 enrollment was 19,000 and U of M 48,000. There will be some community colleges as well but I doubt they commute far. Kind of doubt too many U of M students would commute home on the A2TC route. Not sure how many CMU students live along the line but a fraction of 19,000 is way less than 90,000.

1,000,000 passengers per year. Amtrak FY 2019 reported 844,000 boarding's and alighting's in Michigan from all of the stations it serves and A2TC will do a million?

PatAzo wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 10:58 pm

1,000,000 passengers per year. Amtrak FY 2019 reported 844,000 boarding's and alighting's in Michigan from all of the stations it serves and A2TC will do a million?

Ahh so the pigs are getting wings now, eh?

GLC_391 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 3:13 pm

The Ann Arbor to Traverse City passenger rail service begins operating on weekend excursions in spring 2021!
https://m.facebook.com/ClareCountyMichi ... _tn__=EH-R

We'll be lucky to have all six daily Wolverines back on the AML by the end of Q2 next year, let alone "non essential" leisure travel.

90,000 students live along the line. CMU's 2019 enrollment was 19,000 and U of M 48,000. There will be some community colleges as well but I doubt they commute far. Kind of doubt too many U of M students would commute home on the A2TC route. Not sure how many CMU students live along the line but a fraction of 19,000 is way less than 90,000.

The amount of undergrads in Mt. Pleasant has plummeted in the last 10 years.

Its down to almost 11,000 students in 2019. The peak was in 2010 with over 19,000 students.

I graduated from CMU. I met people from all over the state, and most of them didn't live anywhere near this proposed rail corridor.

Students had cars and complained about the parking constantly. Freshman had to park by the football stadium.

My main skepticism on this new service is having a lack of transportation once you reach your destination. People tend to like having a vehicle at their cabins.

I regret not having chosen a career as a consultant.
Legal fraud sounds like it would have been fun.

GTW6401 wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 21, 2020 1:48 am

90,000 students live along the line. CMU's 2019 enrollment was 19,000 and U of M 48,000. There will be some community colleges as well but I doubt they commute far. Kind of doubt too many U of M students would commute home on the A2TC route. Not sure how many CMU students live along the line but a fraction of 19,000 is way less than 90,000.

The amount of undergrads in Mt. Pleasant has plummeted in the last 10 years.

Its down to almost 11,000 students in 2019. The peak was in 2010 with over 19,000 students.

I graduated from CMU. I met people from all over the state, and most of them didn't live anywhere near this proposed rail corridor.

Students had cars and complained about the parking constantly. Freshman had to park by the football stadium.

My main skepticism on this new service is having a lack of transportation once you reach your destination. People tend to like having a vehicle at their cabins.

Might be time to get a rental car business going. Make a buck in yet another way... through it may really only be a buck the way this thing won’t be used. On the other hand maybe we’ll get fast freight on the GLC...

Petoskey took the tracks out downtown couldn't wait to call it a green space. You'll end up stopping out at the Salvation Army store as the bridge at Bear River needs work. Sorry but the A2TC committee hasn't kept up with reality?

It comes down to the cost of operating your own automobile in the coming decades. If it is within the means of the Traverse City vacationers, the A2TC train will not drawing the 1M passengers a year they forecast (1.5M by 2040 the study says). With the option of a train or the convenience or driving themselves, most people will drive. Working in Germany I asked my collogues there why they didn't take the train. The train only comes once an hour they said, it's more convenient to drive. That's a part of the world that already heavily taxes fuel to finance public transportation. Same thing in South Korea. From my prospective it depends on your vision of the future and if you see automobile costs rising out of reach.

The study has some data that will be interesting to fact check such as the cost of maintaining railroad track. It also has some hyperbole like nine trains each way running up to 125MPH.

Super Chief wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 21, 2020 3:30 pm

Petoskey took the tracks out downtown couldn't wait to call it a green space. You'll end up stopping out at the Salvation Army store as the bridge at Bear River needs work. Sorry but the A2TC committee hasn't kept up with reality?

When did they take out the tracks? Last year when I was there they had installed a bike rack in the middle of them about three blocks south of the station but they still went all the way to the bump post at the north end of the station.

Postponed due to Covid
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 365501002/

Of course it was. Maybe couldn't find any money to pay for that big pie in the sky?

I have previously stated my opinion on this. I don't think it will eve happen, and the 110 mph part will never happen.

With that said, personally I would like to see an operation that would connect the Detroit / AA / Lansing areas to the TC region by rail. It would be more of a couple times per week type operation with the intent to service the resorts in the TC area. I think there is a substantial portion of the population in these areas who would like see something like this where they can load the golf clubs or ski's on the train, ride up to the TC area and then either get a rental car while up there or get picked up by resort transportation and go the the resort.

Why do I think something like this could be more successful? Even as convenient as driving is, someone still has to be the driver. Driving from southern Michigan up north can be a stressful undertaking (more so in the winter when you can hit lake effect snow bands which slow or stop traffic).

I think the key for it to have any kind of success would be making it a package deal between the resorts and the operator (plus possibly a rental car company) for the entire trip to be sold as a package deal.

It could run a couple times per week each direction, and could also get some use as a "long term" commuter operation, meaning go up 1 day, come back a couple days later or go south and come back north. Do I ever see a rides per year? Nope, but I could see something like that being a possible operation.

I also think selling the actual trip itself would be a key. The line runs through some decent scenery, so its not as if you'd be running through like Chicago or Detroit for the entire journey.

Where you saw the bike rack in Petoskey sections of rail were removed and a sign stated and was in the middle of the roadbed "End of MDOT ownership." The city wanted the park space but not in front of the depot to the bumping post.

Super Chief wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 29, 2020 10:14 am

Where you saw the bike rack in Petoskey sections of rail were removed and a sign stated and was in the middle of the roadbed "End of MDOT ownership." The city wanted the park space but not in front of the depot to the bumping post.

Thanks for clearing that up... I happened upon it on a detour when they had 31 torn up in town, but driving a bus doesn’t exactly allow more than a glance. Too bad they took it out.

This whole start-up proposal begs some questions. Is SRI involved with this project even remotely? Were the 2 Amtrak domes bought to supplement this consist? Would this be a revenue stream since the embezzlement, no polar express etc? Are the MDOT Burlington cars involved? Just what equipment did they secure if now it's another year?

Jim Bruckbauer, deputy director for Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, is reported to have said there are no specific plans for public train rides in 2021. https://www.9and10news.com/2020/11/23/a ... eam-ahead/ You gotta love the news media. The head line says Full Steam Ahead but there are no specific plans to run the demo trains.

Super Chief wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:24 pm

This whole start-up proposal begs some questions. Is SRI involved with this project even remotely? Were the 2 Amtrak domes bought to supplement this consist? Would this be a revenue stream since the embezzlement, no polar express etc? Are the MDOT Burlington cars involved? Just what equipment did they secure if now it's another year?

The PPCs have nothing to do with this. They were purchased to supplement SRI’s consist for NPE, that’s it.

I HIGHLY doubt SRI was included in any of this planning. They’re a tourist organization, not an intercity carrier.

MDOT screwed themselves over by selling the F59 to Metrolink and then they got rid of it... I wonder if they can get the two MP36's MBTA barely use...