Is that a joke?
Ever since SEMTA dissolved in 1984, commuter rail no longer exists in michigan, and since MiTRAIN wont be completed till 2022, i think its time to have SMART stop being over reliant on bus services and actually build stuff like what they have in the northeast.
One of the only railfans who gives a crap about the MMA, despite not living IN the northeast.
An interim service of some sort needs to be provided and bus service has a much shorter lead time to startup than rail service.
Suburban rail service in the various cities in the Northeast and metro Chicago has been around for decades. Route extensions or new routes in those systems still take time to be established.
Same in michigan. But unlike others, commuter rail was never re established
It takes a very large metropolitan area to justify commuter rail service. Given the downsizing of Detroit, does Michiagan even have one of those in the state?
alphast takes a very large metropolitan area to justify commuter rail service. Given the downsizing of Detroit, does Michiagan even have one of those in the state?
Detroit has the population it is just not aligned with the existing rails as is Chicago's or other large cities nor does Detroit have a dense city center / downtown any longer.
The Detroit Metro area has currently 4.275 million people. Detroit has only downsized within it's city limits and immediate suburbs next to it's city limits. Detroits population is now approx 677k (1.8 million in 1950). When I was working there in the early 1990's it was still very near 1 million. So they lost about 30% more since I was last working in Detroit......more of a ghost town now then when I was there. The people did not leave the area, they just moved out of the city to suburbs forming a ring around the city.
At any rate having Detroit as a HSR destination from Chicago will probably work as the drive from Chicago is right at the point of torture, so I can see folks driving to a HSR rail station. Unless you lay down a lot of new rails, I agree it won't see much of a Commutter rail system.
ThamasTehTrainEver since SEMTA dissolved in 1984, commuter rail no longer exists in michigan, and since MiTRAIN wont be completed till 2022, i think its time to have SMART stop being over reliant on bus services and actually build stuff like what they have in the northeast.
After people abandon a city en masse, they usually do not come rushing back in. So it is going to take time. First thing Detroit needs to do is retrain or train it's current population so they become an employable blue collar force. Right now most of them are far beneath that and mired in poverty. Second they need to work on attracting large companies back and they have started on that path already. Third they need to work on city transit to bridge the huge gaps of now abandoned city with the islands of development.....which they are doing with light rail.
They recently completed light rail to the Amtrak Detroit Station in the New Center Area to downtown Detroit using Woodward Ave. When I worked there in the 1990s Woodward Ave through the New Center area was known as a prostitution pickup point. Apparently that is fixed now. The other light rail line they are proposing I believe will connect downtown with the Michigan Central Station as well as the Tiger Stadium. Both light rail lines are connecting areas (islands) of development in a sea of urban decay. So give it about 5-10 more years and see if the paths along the light rail lines don't start to fill in with decent taxable businesses. That looks like the strategy though. Once they have the hub and spoke light rail system in place (downtown being the hub), the city can concentrate on development between the spokes. Extend the spokes another 5-10 miles and repeat. Once that is done they will probably have enough density to restore commuter rail service. It's going to take 20-30 years min though unless Detroit lands some new boom industry to attract people back en masse.
Mistake: i meant southeastern michigan in general. Id be nice for HSR to connect ann arbor to detroit be ausean hour long drive with infinite construction is troubling, thats why i think commuter rail should come back to michigan.
ThamasTehTrainMistake: i meant southeastern michigan in general. Id be nice for HSR to connect ann arbor to detroit be ausean hour long drive with infinite construction is troubling, thats why i think commuter rail should come back to michigan.
I think both Detroit's and Amtrak's best remaining development opportunity is turn Detroit to Toledo into a corridor with multiple frequencies a day. It's a short distance corridor with excellently maintained track right now, so would not take a huge amount of money.
The problem with Detroit, is that the suburbs don't see any reason for being involved with transit into the city. The city and suburbs have have separate systems, and the suburbs have resisted merger for decades, and even some of the suburbs have opted out from any transit.
MidlandMike The problem with Detroit, is that the suburbs don't see any reason for being involved with transit into the city. The city and suburbs have have separate systems, and the suburbs have resisted merger for decades, and even some of the suburbs have opted out from any transit.
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