Passenger Trains > Grand Rapids

The Grand Rapids, Michigan's new train station grand opening is scheduled for 7:40 AM October 27, 2014 with the departure of #371.

The new station is on a spur that can be accessed only by making a backup move. Last I knew, the Pere Marquette consisted of Superliners. Are there any Superliner cab cars that could enable the train to operate push-pull (after the first day, #371 will back out of the station engine first and then proceed west engine rear)?
Also, how far is the new station from the older?
Andy

What Grand Rapids needs much more desperately than a new station is multiple daily frequencies, like a minimum of 3.

Where is the vision?

Maybe California will sell a couple of their high level cab cars to Michigan. The FRA has come close to banning them after the Chattsworth disaster, although they can still run under waiver.

The FRA has not come close to banning Amtrak California's cab car fleet. In fact, California has more on order now, and part of that order is going to Michigan for trains like the Pere Marquette.

reindeerflame Wrote:
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> What Grand Rapids needs much more desperately than
> a new station is multiple daily frequencies, like
> a minimum of 3.
>
> Where is the vision?


Michigan has plenty of vision, and is trying to do the best they can considering that they have larger issues like a completely bankrupt Detroit and one of the worst hit economies in the nation.
The station is a definite improvement and a step in the right direction for a train that I worked back in the 80's.

Read the NTSB and FRA recommendations regarding the Chattsworth (and other) incident. We are not talking about all cab cars in the sense of the converted F40's or the Cascade and Acela power units, but rather single (as in ex-Pennsy still used in New England) or double decker(as in Amtrak California and Metrolink) inhabited revenue coaches with a control station on one end. As long as there are no passengers in the lead cab-car, most of the safety experts will go along with them, since it is only the operator at risk, not a carload of passengers. Evidently the engineer accepts the risk when she takes the job, and is considered expendable. I personally would never willingly sit in one of these as a passenger.

R30A Wrote:
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> The FRA has not come close to banning Amtrak
> California's cab car fleet. In fact, California
> has more on order now, and part of that order is
> going to Michigan for trains like the Pere
> Marquette.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/14 10:47 by NewRiverGeorge.

I am fully aware of which cars you are referring to. California is keeping their current cars, and has ordered more of them.

How about service from Grand Rapids to Lansing to Dearborn to Detroit?? I hope it is on the State of Michigan's plan. I heard that CSX is asking to remove the signals from this line around Lansing.

Where is the new station in relation to the ex-Pere Marquette line to Detroit? How about to the ex-Pennsy line to Kalamazoo? Both have occasionally been mentioned as having a future for Amtrak service.

MEKoch Wrote:
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> How about service from Grand Rapids to Lansing to
> Dearborn to Detroit?? I hope it is on the State
> of Michigan's plan. I heard that CSX is asking
> to remove the signals from this line around
> Lansing.


Yes, CSX wants to deactivate the signal system from just west of Plymouth (Beck Road) to the Grand Rapids area, except for some CTC islands near two junctions (Annpere and Trowbridge).

While this could be viewed as impeding passenger-rail development in that part of Michigan, any full-scale plan would probably require replacing the antique signal system on this line anyway -- especially the section between Lansing and Lake Odessa that is not CTC.

symph1 Wrote:
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> Where is the new station in relation to the
> ex-Pere Marquette line to Detroit? How about to
> the ex-Pennsy line to Kalamazoo? Both have
> occasionally been mentioned as having a future for
> Amtrak service.

The new spur is within the Pleasant Street interlocking and comes out on the north track (Track 1) of the double-track segment between Wyoming yard and the east side of GR. As such it is ideally situated for any future service to Detroit. To get to the ex-PRR to Kalamazoo would involve a saw-by move through Pleasant St. to cross over to Track 2 which the ex-PRR branches off of.

One thing I like is they put the station right next to the central bus depot. You can take public transportation from most of the metro area (or even Greyhound from out of town) to reach the train. You see that type of integration in Europe a lot but rarely in the U.S.

Anyone have photos?

timecruncher

P370(25) Arriving Market & Wealthy
P370(25) Departing Market and Wealthy for new depot
P370(25) Tied up at new depot. The last trip to the old interchange at Fuller Diamond old tie down point, happened with P370(23).

Tonight's train will be the last one to detrain passengers at the Market and Wealthy Depot.
Station Spur follows the old East leg of the union depot track for the Pere Marquette Railroad. The depot itself sits just south of where the west leg of the old union depot wye tied in. Dumbest location for a depot ever. Glad we have a new one, but the parking and train access to and from depot wasn't thought of until last... The Architect, decided that a 100 year old sewer line needed to be moved before the spur could be tied into the main, costing the city of gr over 800k. Not like 50 years ago when the old depot was here trains didn't cross over it multiple times a day...

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I never knew this was a Superliner train. Is that normal?

Very normal. Not sure why.

Carl Shaver
Lombard, IL