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
- WIA hosting rail historian for Thursday speaker program - RRSpin
- How railroads shaped Spokane's growth and left a lasting legacy - KXLY.com
- Steel ships, railroads, and data centers: A VC takes the Industrial Revolution analogy seriously - Fortune
- Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City unveils new $25M visitor center - Las Vegas Sun
- Building What Two Railroads Can’t - Union Pacific
- Adams Fire caused by railroad maintenance sparks, report finds - ABC4 Utah
- Deadly Washington Terrace fire sparked by railroad maintenance, investigation finds - FOX 13 News Utah
- Church Street railroad crossing to close Wednesday - WPDE
- Sparks from freight railroad equipment caused fatal Adams Fire, Utah investigation finds - DailyDispatch.com
- Sparks from freight railroad equipment caused Adams Fire, state investigation finds - KUTV
- Car crashes into South Windsor building after crossing railroad tracks, leaves 2 injured - WFSB
- STB Finds Four Class I Railroads ‘Revenue Adequate’ for 2025 - Railway Age
- Florence’s airport hopes to boost the region’s economy via railroad, international cargo transport - Post and Courier
- Park Avenue in Georgetown to close for railroad crossing work - WBOC TV
- Community group pitches rehab of Lawrence Underground Railroad site for public education - The Lawrence Times
