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Amtrak train (file photo)
For a major city, Detroit still lags far behind when it comes to public transportation of all kinds. Here's a bit of good news:
Crain’s Detroit Business reports that a plan is being considered to run Amtrak passenger train service out of a newly built transit hub near Michigan Central Station in Detroit, on land owned by Ford Motor Co. Service could begin in late 2028.
The new facility would also include a 1,300-space, eight-story parking deck.
Crain’s Detroit reporters Kirk Pinho and Anna Fifelski write:
Amtrak and intercity bus service would operate out of the proposed facility. The new station would be one of the stops along a proposed Chicago–Detroit–Toronto passenger rail line that officials from the city, Windsor, Amtrak, the Michigan Department of Transportation, and other groups have been discussing for years.
Currently, Detroit has a small Amtrak train station at 11 W. Baltimore Ave. in the New Center area—a station more commonly found in rural communities along the way to major cities like Philadelphia and New York.
A spokesperson for Michigan Central tells Crain’s that the organization “is exploring options to create new mobility and connection opportunities for passenger rail across the region.”
The last train to leave Michigan Central Station was bound for Chicago on Jan. 5, 1988. The station closed and fell into disrepair for decades before Ford bought the structure and invested hundreds of millions of dollars to bring it back to life.
When Ford renovated the station, it had no plans to resume train service from that exact location, but rather from a nearby site on the campus there.
