Detroit-Chicago corridor gets $196.5 million

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced a grant of $196.5million to the Michigan Department of Transportation for track andsignal improvements between Detroit and Kalamazoo, Mich. These improvementswill allow for speeds up to 110 mph on 77% of Amtrak’s Wolverine and BlueWater services between Detroit and Chicago, providing a 30 minutereduction in travel time . It will also service current and futurefreight rail customers, including major shippers like Ford Motor Company.

LaHood said the grant will cover preliminary engineering, final design andconstruction for a project that will include continuously welded rail,fiber optic lines and infrastructure for positive train control system. Itwill involve rebuilding 180 public highway-rail grade crossings and gatesand flashers at 65 private crossings. The project will create approximately800 new jobs during the construction phase beginning in late spring 2012.

"Investing in rail service will spark economic development in communitiesalong a corridor linking Detroit and Chicago, two vital Midwest cities,"said Michibgan Governor Rick Snyder. "A faster, reliable passenger railsystem is a priority for younger generations and vital to Michigan’s abilityto compete globally as businesses look to locate or expand. The railimprovements will also hasten the transport of freight, a priority for FordMotor Company and other Michigan businesses along the route."

“This funding will help move Michigan and the nation forward by makinghigh-speed rail a part of our economic infrastructure," said Senator CarlLevin. "Our economic competitors around the world have long enjoyed thebenefits of high-speed rail service between their cities. They havedemonstrated that high-speed service can create jobs and promote economicgrowth and that it can provide a more energy-efficient alternative."

Last week Michigan’s House of Representatives passed a supplemental appropriations bill committing roughly $32 million to match a $358.9 million federal grant, in order to acquire Norfolk Southern Corp.’s Kalamazoo-Dearborn segment of the Chicago-Detroit route.