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
04 December 2024
- The Railroad on the Wrong Side of Trump’s Tariffs - The Wall Street Journal
- US railroad Amtrak sets passenger record in 2024 - Reuters
- With completion of shop, Durango railroad opens for contract work - The Durango Herald
- Road closures in Fountain beginning Monday due to work at railroad crossings - KKTV
- Rail News - Genesee & Wyoming launches first railroad in western Canada. For Railroad Career Professionals - Progressive Rail Roading
- Truck slams into railroad bridge in Norwood - Boston 25 News
- Model railroad club announces open house - Sandusky Register
- Baltimore & Ohio toy train display - TRAINS Magazine
- Model Railroad Show rolls into Richmond with train displays, programs - WRIC ABC 8News
- Columbia remains one of few cities in America with a short-line railroad - KOMU 8
- Model railroads with multiple eras - TRAINS Magazine
- BREAKING: Victoria County Sheriff’s Office identifies man found dead on Bloomington railroad tracks - Crossroads Today
- Railroad ties catch fire in Carolina Forest - WBTW
- Effort to Save N&W Sleeper Launched - Railfan & Railroad Magazine
- Why Experts Are Calling on Congress and Agencies to Improve Rail Safety - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
