Amtrak Trains Could Reach 110 MPH, Add Route Between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids
Train travel in Michigan is being studied and two major changes could be coming. Track upgrades could allow speeds up to 110 miles per hour and trains could travel between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids.
High Speed Upgrade
Amtrack's Wolverine Line runs between Chicago and Detroit and, according to MiBiz.com, the Michigan Department of transportation, along with sister agencies in Indiana and Illinois are looking to upgrade those tracks to allow speeds of up to 100mph which would drop travel time between the two midwest metropolises by a full hour and shave travel time from Kalamazoo to Chicago to just under two hours.
Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids Corridor
Grand Rapids is currently the terminus of the Pere Marquette line which also runs to Chicago via Holland and St Joseph. However if the Wolverine line receives an upgrade, there are hopes, although the priority is low, to route GR-Chicago traffic due south to Kalamazoo to connect to a higher speed Wolverine Line. What gets left out in that scenario are the West Michigan whistlestops of Holland, Bangor and St Joseph as the Wolverine Line bypasses those cities and heads for Chicago from Kalamazoo via Dowagiac and Niles.