MI: Michigan Amtrak trains to Chicago will halt for 5 days during demolition projects

Amtrak and the Michigan Department of Transportation are removing two relics of early train travel in Indiana and Southwest Michigan, prompting a five-day shutdown for certain routes.

Defunct coaling towers are being removed along both routes in Michigan City, Indiana and Augusta, Michigan.

Trains won’t be able to run while work is underway.

Amtrak’s Bluewater Line, which runs between Chicago and Port Huron with stops in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, East Lansing, and Flint, will not run Sept. 15 through 19.

The passenger rail line will offer east- and westbound buses for travelers along the popular route, Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said, but passengers should expect delays.

The Wolverine Line, which runs between Chicago and Pontiac three times a day, will also be reduced to one bus route. That line includes stops in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Jackson, among others.

Alternative transportation will only be offered for Train 351, departing Pontiac around 5:45 a.m. and Train 352, leaving Chicago around 2:15 p.m.

The 100-foot towers, last used to dump coal into steam engines in the 1950s, span the Amtrak and MDOT-owned tracks, Magliari said. The towers hover above the tracks so they could drop coal directly into trains.

“We have to dismantle it in a way that preserves traffic on the Red Arrow Highway and also preserves the integrity of the railroad beneath it,” he said. “That’s not something you can do with two people and a chisel.”

Buses will depart Chicago and Port Huron the same time trains do and pull into each train station along the route, Magliari said.

“The train has a maximum speed of 110 (mph),” he said. “The buses, of course, can’t go that fast and also have to make the train stops. People inbound to Chicago on those days should expect to be delayed.”

The Pere Marquette Line, which runs from Grand Rapids to Chicago daily, will be unaffected, he said.

Notification of the shutdown went up on the Amtrak service alert center on Wednesday, Sept. 3. The late notice is frustrating, State Sen. Sean McCann, D- Kalamazoo, said in a news release.

“Those who rely on these routes to travel to fulfill work and family obligations are left with limited alternative options,” he said. “It will also leave rail workers at risk of not being paid throughout this suspension of service.”

Amtrak has approval from the state historic preservation agencies and Indiana lawmakers for the work, Magliari said.

Amtrak announced the demolition and line disruption in November 2024, per Benton Harbor radio station WSJM.

“It is impossible to believe that Amtrak did not realize until yesterday that there were structures whose removal would cause a significant disruption of two major routes,” McCann said.

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