Flying Through Calhoun County on Amtrak

With the exception of an airplane – have you ever gone 110 miles per hour?  Most people honestly have to say no.

Now you have a chance to do that and see what it feels like to go that fast at ground level. On Amtrak. The State of Michigan is announcing that Amtrak is boosting the maximum allowed speed on its trains rolling right through Calhoun County and Kalamazoo counties. The approximate 45 mile stretch between Kalamazoo and Albion on Amtrak’s east-west line through the state is opening up to the top speed of 110mph as of next Tuesday.

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That doesn’t mean Amtrak trains will always hit 110 in the area. But with good conditions engineers have the permission to crank ‘em up.

Lots of improvements to the track, and the trains are making this possible. The Amtrak Wolverine and Blue Water trains are involved.  And in mid-July, Amtrak is returning its Pontiac – Detroit – Chicago – round trip Wolverine service.

Amtrak has installed a lot of safety features along its track to help ensure no collisions. But that means drivers also need to remember if the gates go down, you don’t try to go around them. Speeding trains seem a lot quieter on approach than at more normal speeds. Amtrak has even installed some fencing in some high population density areas to help prevent people from trying to cross tracks on foot.

The higher speeds may help keep Amtrak trains on schedule. The higher speeds in this area can be used to make up for delays along other sections of track between Detroit and Chicago.