amtrak

Amtrak has a new plan: Connect Us (PDF, 76 pages).

Amtrak may also be about to receive the largest infusion of funding seen in decades. What do they hope this means for Michigan service?

Can we declare ridership on the Amtrak 370/371 corridor - the Pere Marquette - to be recovered? 2022 ridership (89,539) exceeded that of 2017 (87,276).

The all time highest ridership year is 2018 with 96,643 riders, followed by 2019 with only a few hundred less.

Now we are back to ridership growth on the Pere Marquette being limited by capacity and frequency.

UPDATE 2025-01-17: See The State of Intercity Transit in 2025

The level of inter-city service has declined in recent years. The direction has turned since the surprising promise of the late 2010s; recovery, and certainly expansion, seem very unlikely.

What is still available if you want to travel to a neighboring city? (Daily service)

The news is official: "Partners shelve plans for small grocery store at 38 Commerce in downtown Grand Rapids". This in conjunction with the closing of award winning Propaganda Donuts ... it has not been a good month for retail in Grand Rapids.

The required public information meetings for the Coast-To-Coast passenger rail project have been scheduled. These are the first of three rounds of scheduled public information meetings.