Michigan

State Details

See Wikipedia; also see United States for information relating to the country as a whole, and the national operator Amtrak.

Maps

Michigan is covered by the SPV "North America Railroad Atlas" volume Great Lakes East.

Rail Operators

• AMTRAK
  • Michigan Services. There are three separate trains.
    • The Pere Marquette connects Chicago to Grand Rapids. From Michigan City, Indiana, the train enters Michigan state by the Grand Rapids subdivision.
    • The Blue Water connects Chicago to Kalamazoo and Port Huron. From Michigan City, Indiana, the train enters Michigan state by the Michigan subdivision.
    • The Wolverine connects Chicago with Kalamazoo, Detroit and Pontiac. From Michigan City, Indiana, the train enters Michigan state by the Michigan subdivision.

Tourist Lines

• Coopersville and Marne Railway is tourist railroad and common carrier in West Michigan. The track runs from Walker, Michigan to Coopersville, Michigan for approximately 14 miles. Passenger excursion trains run from Coopersville to Marne and back.
• Huckleberry Railroad is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge heritage railroad located in Genesee Township, Michigan, near Flint. Train rides are for 40-minutes along the shores of Mott Lake, down a stretch of the historic Pere Marquette railway.
• Little River Railroad is a heritage railroad located in Coldwater, Michigan. The train runs to Quincy, Michigan and occasionally Hillsdale, Michigan with the Hillsdale Flyer. See Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services MI2.
• South Michigan Railroad Society is a railway museum in Clinton, Michigan. It has preserved 13.5 miles (21.7 km) of track. The railroad runs 5 miles (8.0 km) between the towns of Clinton and Tecumseh during the summer months and 6.5 miles (10.5 km) from Tecumseh to the rural railroad junction of Raisin Center, where the track originally crossed the Norfolk Southern mainline. Most trains operate between Clinton and Tecumseh but in October, Fall Color Tours use the longer 6.5-mile (10.5 km) segment to Clinton.
• The Steam Railroading Institute is located in Owosso, Michigan. Headquartered at the old Ann Arbor Railroad railyard, the organisation operates a heritage railroad that offers occasional passenger excursion trains. No information was available in October 2025.
• Great Lakes Railroad currently (October 2025) not operating excursions. See Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services MI3.
• Indiana Northeastern Railroad. Used by excursions operated by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society Inc, as Indiana Rail Experience. Check their website for trips to Jonesville, MI or Hillsdale, MI. Currently showing trips to Hillsdale 27 April, 15/16 June and 12 October 2025. Little River Railroad also operates over a section of the INER (see See Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services MI2). Report updated: October 2025

Metro and light rail systems

• Detroit
  • Detroit People Mover. Schedule and map on the website. The People Mover is a 2.94-mile (4.73 km) elevated automated system in Detroit operating in a one-way loop on a single track encircling downtown Detroit. Track is standard gauge and electrification is third rail.
  • QLINE is a 3.3-mile-long (5.3 km) streetcar system in Detroit. Opened in 2017, it connects Downtown Detroit with Midtown and New Center, running along Woodward Avenue for its entire route. Tracks are standard gauge and power is supplied by 750V DC overhead line or onboard lithium-ion batteries.

Recent and Future Changes

Recent Changes

None

Future Changes

None

Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services

See USA - Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services - Michigan.