Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line studies look to wrap up in April

As sloth-like as it seems at times, the commuter rail project connecting Detroit, Ann Arbor and Metro Airport is not on a slow boat to China. But then again, it’s not using Maglev technology either.

Regardless, officials close to the project expect infrastructure capacity and fare-box studies to wrap up by April, giving the project a big boost toward becoming a reality.

“That’s key because we’re trying to nail down the cost of the project,” Saundra Nelson, director of special projects for Wayne County, said in a speech to Transportation Riders United earlier this week.

Nelson pointed out that finishing these studies will get the project closer to concluding the second stage of a largely three-step assessment. The first two (what it is and what it takes) will be done, leaving the third (what it costs) left to be determined. Nelson was quite optimistic that the proposal will become a reality sooner rather than later.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, which is spearheading the project, is negotiating logistics and improvements with the railroads that control the tracks and Amtrak for providing the trains. Organizers behind the proposal are looking at picking stops, arranging a shuttle service between the Metro Airport stop at Merriman Road and the airport’s terminals and making sure delays are kept to a bare minimum.

Carmine Palombo, director of transportation for SEMCOG, gave a prognosis last year of establishing service by late 2009 or early 2010 while SEMCOG and the railroads sort out logistical issues.

The commuter rail line would utilize existing tracks with stops at Metro Airport, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Dearborn. It’s possible it could also be expanded to connect Royal Oak, Ferndale, Troy/Birmingham and Pontiac.

Source: Saundra Nelson, director of special projects for Wayne County
Writer: Jon Zemke