![Amtrak 427 is eastbound at Battle Creek. 2006 [Dale Berry photo]](/images/MIRR/AmtrakWolverine(427)EBAtBattleCreekMI042106-7[DaleBerry].jpg "Amtrak 427 is eastbound at Battle Creek. 2006 [Dale Berry photo]")
Amtrak - The National Railroad Passenger Corporation
Amtrak is a federally owned railroad which provides national passenger train service in the United States. Amtrak was created in 1971 to relieve most railroads from being required to continue to provide passenger service. In return, the railroads agreed to allow Amtrak to use its tracks.
In Michigan, Amtrak provides passenger service on three lines. It operates three round trips each day between Pontiac via Detroit to Chicago, Illinois (CN/Conrail/Amtrak/NS). The second route has a single round trip each day between Port Huron and Chicago, via Battle Creek (CN/Amtrak/NS). The third route has a single round trip each day between Grand Rapids and Chicago via Porter, Indiana (CSX/NS).
Amtrak operates on two sections of track which are not owned by freight railroads. Amtrak itself purchased former Conrail trackage between Kalamazoo and Porter, Indiana. In 2013, the State of Michigan purchased former Norfolk Southern trackage between Dearborn and Kalamazoo. The first line offered trains that exceed 80 m.p.h. in a section which uses advanced positive train control. High speed operation is also planned for the Dearborn to Kalamazoo route as well. Norfolk Southern continues to provide freight service on both of these lines through trackage rights.
Amtrak has stations in Albion, Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Birmingham, Dearborn, Detroit, Dowagiac, Durand, Flint, Grand Rapids, Holland, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Lapeer, Michigan City, Niles, and Pontiac in Michigan.
Website: Amtrak
Photo: Amtrak 427 is eastbound at the Battle Creek station. 2006 [Dale Berry photo]
News Feed from Google: Amtrak
News Feed - Amtrak
14 June 2025
- Can Amtrak's busy Northeast Corridor handle 2026 World Cup? - ESPN
- Former Amtrak CEO Anderson becomes chair of Norfolk Southern board - trains.com
- I sat in coach on an Amtrak train across the border from Canada to Seattle. 6 things surprised me about the $50 ride. - Business Insider
- Amtrak adds another daily trip between San Diego and Los Angeles - fox5sandiego.com
- Texas Is Right to End the Heartland Flyer - National Review
- Amtrak's corroded railcars should have been replaced more than a decade ago in Wisconsin. Why weren't they? - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Gulf Coast Amtrak service delayed again until late summer - fox8live.com
- Amtrak to add 12th daily round-trip train between L.A. and San Diego - San Diego Union-Tribune
- Transit Briefs: MBTA, CTA, Amtrak - Railway Age
- Hold lifted at Baltimore Penn Station after "unauthorized vehicle" on tracks - WUSA9
- Amtrak's Mardi Gras passenger rail service update - fox10tv.com
- Rail News - Amtrak adds 12th daily round trip to Pacific Surfliner route. For Railroad Career Professionals - Progressive Railroading
- Heartland Flyer Faces Imminent Suspension Without Funding - Amtrak Media
- Man on tracks killed by Amtrak train in New Orleans - WWLTV.com
- Amtrak Expands Pacific Surfliner With 12th Daily Roundtrip - Railway Supply
