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
21 March 2025
- White House forces out CEO of passenger railroad Amtrak - Reuters
- Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner resigning, weeks after Elon Musk says the train service should be privatized - 6ABC Philadelphia
- Amtrak CEO Resigns Amid Reports He Was Forced Out By White House - Railfan & Railroad Magazine
- Legislator Calls For State to Sell Alaska Railroad - Railfan & Railroad Magazine
- Trains stopped at railroad crossings for hours hurting business, cafe owner says - FOX 5 Atlanta
- Federal Railroad Administration grants request to restore Ogden-Salt Lake 'Quiet Zone' - FOX 13 News Utah
- Three railroads selected for ASLRRA Business Development Awards - TRAINS Magazine
- Rail News - U.S. freight-rail traffic climbs 6% in Week 11. For Railroad Career Professionals - Progressive Rail Roading
- Public hearing held in Erwin about CSX permit to rebuild railroad tracks along Nolichucky River - WJHL-TV News Channel 11
- Milwaukee Wants To Buy 30th Street Line, Railroad Says No - Urban Milwaukee
- STB Calls NS Plan to Acquire Terminal Railroad ‘Significant’ Transaction - Railfan & Railroad Magazine
- Riverhead Police: 10 people caught on railroad tracks charged with criminal trespass - RiverheadLOCAL
- PHOTOS: Walmart truck overturns on railroad tracks - WREG NewsChannel 3
- Railroad crossing construction to close multiple roads in York County, Pa. - WGAL Susquehanna Valley Pa.
- Union Pacific Announces Appointment of Christina Conlin to Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary - Union Pacific
