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New plan to bring passenger rail back to Michigan Central
Michigan Central Station is getting back on track. Governor Whitmer stopped by the iconic building to announce that passenger trains are returning to the station.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Michigan Central Station is getting back on track as Governor Whitmer stopped by the iconic building to announce that passenger trains are returning to the station.
Big picture view:
It was not too long ago when the station had its grand opening as a hotel, and now, trains are expected to come back.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, MDOT, the City of Detroit, and Michigan Central have agreed to a 'Memorandum of Understanding' to create a transportation hub on the campus, committing $40 million to research and engineering of the project.
The twist is, the station itself isn’t the train stop.
Officials tell FOX 2 it will be west of Michigan Central, within walking distance. It’ll also serve as a bus stop.
The Amtrak line will be an extension of the Chicago to Detroit Wolverine line, continuing to Windsor and onto Toronto.
"I am super excited to see trains come back to Michigan Central," said Executive Director of Transportation Riders United, Megan Owens. "Even if they’re not actually going to go right through the station, it’s really exciting to see that iconic piece of Detroit be a part of transportation again. From 1913 to 1988, hundreds of thousands of people would come through, taking the train from all over the country to Michigan Central, and that was our Ellis Island. That is where people came to enter Detroit."
What's next:
State officials are hoping to have it operational by late 2028.