Blue Water (train)

Blue Water An Amtrak Blue Water train pulling into the East Lansing station. Overview Service type Inter-city rail, higher-speed rail Locale Michigan Predecessor International First service April 25, 2004 Current operator(s) Amtrak Ridership 191,106 (FY13)[1] Route Start Chicago, Illinois End Port Huron, Michigan Distance travelled 319 miles (513 km) Service frequency Daily Train number(s) 364, 365 Technical Track gauge 4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Track owner(s) CN/GTW, Amtrak, MDOT NS Route map Legend 0 mi  0 km  Chicago IL IN IN MI 62 mi  100 km  New Buffalo 89 mi  143 km  Niles 102 mi  164 km  Dowagiac 138 mi  222 km  Kalamazoo 160 mi  257 km  Battle Creek 208 mi  335 km  East Lansing 238 mi  383 km  Durand 256 mi  412 km  Flint 274 mi  441 km  Lapeer 319 mi  513 km  Port Huron Blue Water Limited Blue Water Overview Service type Inter-city rail Locale Michigan First service September 15, 1974 Last service October 31, 1982 Successor International Limited Former operator(s) Amtrak Route Start Chicago, Illinois End Port Huron, Michigan Distance travelled 319 miles (513 km) Service frequency Daily Train number(s) 364, 365

The Blue Water is a higher-speed passenger train service operated by Amtrak as part of its Michigan Services. The 319-mile (513 km) line connects Port Huron, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois, via East Lansing, Michigan.

History

The Lansing area, home of the Michigan state capitol and Michigan State University, was left out of Amtrak's original system. Beginning in 1973, Amtrak and the state discussed restoring service over the Grand Trunk Western Railway within the state, although the new route would join Amtrak's other Michigan trains on the Penn Central west of Battle Creek, Michigan, eschewing the Grand Trunk's traditional route to Chicago. New stations were built in Port Huron and East Lansing, and the state spent $1 million on track rehabilitation. Service began September 15, 1974, between Chicago and Port Huron, with the intention of eventually restoring the Port Huron–Toronto leg.^[2]:204-204

Amtrak renamed the train the Blue Water Limited on October 26, 1975, and re-equipped it with French-built Turboliner trainsets on May 20, 1976. The new Turboliners were capable of, but never reached, 125 mph (201 km/h) and ran with fixed five-car consists with an overall capacity of 292 passengers. The Turboliners were withdrawn on October 25, 1981, replaced by conventional locomotives pulling Amfleet coaches.^{[2]:204; 208}

International

The long-discussed extension to Toronto finally occurred on October 31, 1982. The extended service received the name International Limited, the name of an old Canadian National/Grand Trunk Chicago–Detroit–Montreal train. Amtrak and Via Rail, the state-supported Canadian rail company, jointly operated the International Limited (later just International) until April 25, 2004, when cross-border service was discontinued. Massive border delays post-September 11 led to falling ridership; Amtrak and Michigan agreed to truncate service at Port Huron and bring back the old Blue Water.^[2]:207 On the Canadian side service ends at Sarnia as part of the VIA Rail's Corridor route.

Current

With a more favorable intrastate schedule and fewer delays, the Blue Water's ridership showed immediate improvements, carrying 94,378 passengers in fiscal year 2004 (compared to 80,890 in FY 2003).^[2]:208 Blue Water ridership in FY 2011 totaled 187,065, an increase of 18.0 percent from FY 2010's total of 157,709, and the highest total ever recorded by the train.^[3] During FY 2011, the train had a total revenue of $5.8 million, a 22.3 percent increase from FY 2010's total of $4.7 million.^[3]

Route details

The Blue Water operates over Norfolk Southern Railway, Amtrak, and Grand Trunk Western Railroad trackage:

• NS Chicago Line, Chicago to Porter, Indiana
• Amtrak Chicago–Detroit Line, Porter, Indiana, to Kalamazoo, Michigan
• MDOT Michigan Line, Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Battle Creek, Michigan ^[4]
• CN/GTW Flint Subdivision, Battle Creek, Michigan, to Port Huron, Michigan

Amtrak Blue Water (interactive map)

Station stops

State	Town/City	Station	Connections
Illinois	Chicago	Chicago Union Station	Amtrak: Capitol Limited, Cardinal, Carl Sandburg, California Zephyr, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Hiawatha Service, Hoosier State, Illini, Illinois Zephyr, Lake Shore Limited, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Saluki, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle, Wolverine, Thruway Motorcoach CTA Buses: 1, 7, 14, 19, 20, X20, X28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192 Megabus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7 Metra: North Central Service, Milwaukee District/North Line, Milwaukee District/West Line, BNSF Railway Line, Heritage Corridor, SouthWest Service
Michigan	New Buffalo	New Buffalo	Berrien Bus
	Niles	Niles	Niles Dial-A-Ride (DART)
	Dowagiac	Dowagiac	Dowagiac Dial-A-Ride (DART)
	Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo Transportation Center	Greyhound Indian Trails Metro Transit: 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15
	Battle Creek	Battle Creek Transportation Center	Amtrak: Wolverine, Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Greyhound Battle Creek Transit
	East Lansing	East Lansing	Amtrak: Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Greyhound Indian Trails Megabus: M1 CATA: Route 20
	Durand	Durand Union Station	Shiawassee Area Transportation Agency
	Flint	Flint	Amtrak: Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Greyhound Indian Trails MTA
	Lapeer	Lapeer	Greater Lapeer Transportation Authority (GLTA)
	Port Huron	Port Huron	Blue Water Area Transit: Route 3, 9

High-speed rail

The Detroit–Chicago corridor has been designated by the Federal Railroad Administration as a high-speed rail corridor.^[5] A 97-mile (156 km) stretch along the route of Blue Water from Porter, Indiana to Kalamazoo, Michigan is the longest segment of track owned by Amtrak outside of the Northeast Corridor.^[5] Amtrak began speed increases along this stretch in January 2002. Ultimately, speed increased to 110 mph (180 km/h).^[5][6]

Cultural references

The Blue Water Line was featured in a song by that name written by Dora Graf and Martin Seligson and popularized by The Brothers Four.^[7]

Consist

Today, a normal Amtrak Blue Water consists of:^[8]

• One GE Genesis P40DC or P42DC locomotive
  • One non-powered cab car, rebuilt from an EMD F40PH
• Five or Six Horizon Fleet or Amfleet I coaches
• One or Two Horizon Fleet or Amfleet I cafe/business cars

References

1. "Annual Ridership Summary". MDOT Rail Statistics. MDOT. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
2. Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34705-X. OCLC 61499942.
3. "Amtrak reports record Michigan ridership". The Grand Rapids Press. October 14, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
4. Kalamazoo Gazette file photo (October 11, 2011). "Details emerging on MDOT purchase of train track from Kalamazoo to Dearborn". MLive. Booth Newspapers. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
5. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2005" (PDF). Amtrak. Retrieved October 30, 2006.
6. "Michigan: Amtrak taking service to new speeds". WNDU-TV. Retrieved November 1, 2006.
7. "The Brothers Four Greatest Hits". Google Music. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
8. "Blue Water". TrainWeb. Retrieved October 22, 2010.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Amtrak - Michigan Services
• Amtrak Michigan Services Website
• Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
• 1978 Blue Water Limited Route Guide