Michigan Central Station

The new stations at Dearborn and Troy/Birmingham were to open by the end of this year (Ann Arbor is going back to square one, IIRC). Does anyone know that status of those two projects? And will the "Birmingham" stop be renamed "Troy"? Troy is where the new station will be located, and Troy (via a federal grant) is paying for it.

Station Aficionado wrote:The new stations at Dearborn and Troy/Birmingham were to open by the end of this year (Ann Arbor is going back to square one, IIRC). Does anyone know that status of those two projects? And will the "Birmingham" stop be renamed "Troy"? Troy is where the new station will be located, and Troy (via a federal grant) is paying for it.

Per the Amtrak FY13 Michigan fact sheet, the completion dates for both Dearborn and Troy (and Grand Rapids,as well) is now 2014. The only specificity is for Dearborn "mid-2014."

Just noticed on the arial google maps... CR destroyed the pax concourse bridge to allow for double stack container trains to pass under, however, the pax tracks are all still there and connected to the main. I wonder why they would leave the rail in? It's all still there thru the platorms and it's still connected to the mainline. Funny they didn't rip it out. Must be some reason!

Are you referring to Michigan Central Station in Detroit? There was no concourse bridge there. Passenger access to the various platforms, I believe, was via a still extant tunnel. There were extensive Bush-style train sheds that were demolished. Don't know why the platform track remain in place.

Are you thinking of Buffalo Central Station perhaps?

BCT's platforms still stand and yes the concourse bridge over the Belt Line was demolished, but the tracks for the platforms are gone.

Buffalo's terminal is a mighty impressive piece of railroad architecture, i hope it could be used at some point again.

BCT may have been the single most awkwardly located station on the NYC. Although from the standpoint of train operations it almost had to be where it was, it was (and is) nowhere near downtown Buffalo or any other focal point in the city.

ExCon90 wrote:BCT may have been the single most awkwardly located station on the NYC. Although from the standpoint of train operations it almost had to be where it was, it was (and is) nowhere near downtown Buffalo or any other focal point in the city.

Yea, i noticed that. Shuttle bus circuits might help? -shrug-

And I just remembered -- I think the building is still 25Hz, which won't help. (Hey, I just thought of somebody who might start a movement ...)

ExCon90 wrote:And I just remembered -- I think the building is still 25Hz, which won't help. (Hey, I just thought of somebody who might start a movement ...)

25 hz lighting.... yea, i'd love to experience that.. NOT.

OK, presuming we are addressing Detroit Michigan Central Station as the topic is titled, and not various other former passenger facilities about the NYC System, it would appear from my review of the aerial photos at Google, that the platform tracks have all been severed and the tracks remaining handle container traffic for one railroad or the other.

From having boarded and alighted trains from MCS, as well as Fort Street, in the past, be it assured that access to the platforms was by underground passage, as with LAUPT.

Even if in someone's dreams the MCS station were to be restored to its one-time glory, there would be no benefit to Amtrak serving there. To Amtrak, Detroit is simply an intermediate stop on the Wolverine route (somewhere at the Forum it was reported that it is not even the busiest station on the line). Trains would have to pull in/back up in order to access it.

But there is only one place that MCS is going - and that is down. Along with a Packard assembly plant, MCS is a poster child for Detroit's decay and its resulting bankruptcy. MCS is quite visible from I-75 and could well be the first and lasting impression for someone new to the region. The structure is not that near to Downtown, and there is 'indian country' to traverse. Detroit must recognize that it no longer has, and never will again, have a population of 2M, it will simply have to contract is municipal limits from its present 132sq mi to say that of other municipalities with 720K population. That would be about 90sq mi. For those residing outside the new municipal limits, there would be severe displacement, as municipal services, even such as they are today, would cease to exist. Possibly some abandoned areas would form their own municipal corporation and carry on, but one had best not think in residing within the now unincorporated area.

There are quite a few 'mothballed' buildings in the Downtown area (they are secure), and I'm certain that if there is to be a renaissance, they will again be habitable. The hotel at which I have stayed when I have visited Detroit, the Westin Book-Cadillac, is one of such structures.

Personally, I'm pulling for Detroit, for what it worth, it does have all four major sports franchises with venues Downtown. However, my reason to visit Detroit has been to support the Detroit Symphony Orchestra - a world class ensemble but which I fear is not long for this world. The auto industry has stabilized, but of course its manufacturing is now quite decentralized. But there are start up tech industries there attracting young, highly skilled, and motivated people - and they want to live Downtown.

Detroit could well have a renaissance - but MCS will not be part of it.

Mr. Norman is pretty much spot on in his assessment of MCS. Both MCS and BCT share the same major flaws preventing reuse by trains or others.

Neither are in desirable areas. They're both a few miles from a dead or very quiet downtown. Neither are conducive to modern corridor operations. MCS is out of the way for the swing up to Pontiac, and I believe BCT is off the map for some or all of current Buffalo trains. Finally, both stations were built to serve 100+ trains/day, something you'll only see in the absolute largest markets in this country.

Compare either station to NOUPT and you have a great illustration - NOUPT serves 5/day total (each with sleepers) including arrivals and departures, is far smaller than BCT or MCS, and is still plenty of station. BUF sees one train with sleepers, Detroit sees none - the rest is corridor business.

Bottom line, BCT and MCS are relics of another era that can no more be brought back than the Hindenberg or the Titanic.

Gilbert B Norman wrote:To Amtrak, Detroit is simply an intermediate stop on the Wolverine route (somewhere at the Forum it was reported that it is not even the busiest station on the line).

It was only No. 4 on the Wolverine route in FY 13:

1. Ann Arbor-158,717
2. Kalamazoo-129,858 (also served by Blue Water).
3. Dearborn-81,878
4. Detroit-70,626

I give MCS 50/50 odds of being preserved before it either crumbles or is demolished. I give it only 1 chance in 100 of it actually becoming relevant again, and I'm not willing to give it one chance in a thousand that it will be the centerpiece of a thriving neighborhood. I've suggested before that Detroit build a union station more or less at the site of Joe Louis Arena from CP rails on the west and connect it to CN rails via the Dequindre Cut, but failing that remote (and growing more remote) possibility, get used to a New Center station and a ride on Woodward. Michigan Central and Buffalo stations occupy the same roles as Midway in St. Paul - there for railroad convenience, not for rider convenience - and they have been or will be superseded for that reason.