The Ann Arbor to Traverse City Railway - Capitol Connection webinar
You can take a train from the Thumb of Michigan to the Capitol to Chicago. You can take one up the Lake Michigan coast to Grand Rapids. And you can take one from Detroit through the fruit farms of southern Michigan.
But you can't take a train anywhere above the bottom third of our state. For that, you'll need buses or a car.
Enter the Ann Arbor to Traverse City railway, a proposed passenger train system connecting the north to the south (visualized in yellow-green on the map). For years, Groundwork Center—a Michigan Environmental Council member group—has worked to make this possible.
This summer, its advocacy paid off. A northern Michigan state senator helped secure major funding for a study looking into the potential for a Traverse City-to-Ann Arbor railway service. A little while later the US Department of Transportation announced it would provide the remaining funding necessary.
This is no small step. It comes off of millions of dollars in railway repairs being made and a preliminary study being completed.
"The next 18 months are crucial to the project, and we’re hopeful this will lead to the beginning stages of service within five years," said Jim Bruckbauer, director of Groundwork's transportation and community design program.
Join Jim and Carolyn Ulstad, Groundwork's transportation program manager, as they discuss why a north-to-south railway is so important for the communities and area residents along the route, our state's economy, and the environment.
Can't make the event live? Register and we'll send you a recording.
The Capitol Connection webinar series is generously sponsored by:
Steve & Judy Dobson
