A nonprofit creating a passenger train line that would connect Detroit to Petoskey says the next steps of the project might take about 10 more years. Those steps include engineering, an environmental assessment, final design and construction.
Carolyn Ulstad, transportation program manager with Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, the developer of the project, said it’s hard to know the exact date North-South Rail will start offering services because it’s a large infrastructure project.
“Things can speed up or slow down depending on so many different variables, but we're taking it one step at a time and doing the next step that needs to be taken,” Ulstad said.
Currently, Groundwork is researching the best station locations, target demographics and governance structure in a new study. The study is expected to be completed by the end of this year, Ulstad said.
“This is actually a really big year for this project,” she said. “The study that's currently happening this year is a very, very, very deep dive, and it's really all of the information that we need to know how to move forward.”
The first feasibility study was done in 2018, and it originally projected that North-South Rail would be able to offer limited services for things like events by 2020. But the COVID-19 pandemic brought setbacks, Ulstad said.
Originally the idea of having a train running through Michigan’s Lower Peninsula was born in 2010, and Ulstad said Groundwork loved the vision of providing people with transportation options and economic benefits for local communities.
“I think there is just something wonderful about the option of a train,” Ulstad said. “It also becomes something more accessible to people who either can't drive or can't afford to drive.”
When the train operations start, Ulstad said Groundwork hopes to offer services through 12 places, such as Detroit, Ann Arbor, Alma, Mount Pleasant, Cadillac, Traverse City, Petoskey and others.
