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Hello Hunter,

On behald of Lorenzo and Abel, I send you a newsletter on an Amtrak project in Michigan (and other states) for new passenger cars, which we found interesting.

April 23, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Michigan Amtrak routes get bi-level cars with wireless service in 2015
· By David Shepardson
· Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington- Michigan's three Amtrak routes will get new, state-of-the-art, bi-level cars that will have wireless service, bicycle storage and more comfortable seats starting in 2015.
Almost 800,000 people rode an Amtrak train in Michigan in the 12-month-period ending Sept. 30, 2011 - the most in the state's history.
The cars will include café/lounge cars, business class cars, standard coaches and cab/baggage cars. The cars will increase seating capacity and will improve on-time performance, the Federal Railroad Administration said Friday.
Last year, Michigan won $106 million to buy 25 cars for use on Amtrak's Wolverine, Blue Water and Pere Marquette routes.
It's part of a $782 million award announced last year by the Transportation Department to buy domestically built passenger rail cars and locomotives that will travel in California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Indiana and possibly Iowa.
On Friday, the Federal Railroad Administration and Michigan Department of Transportation announced they are seeking bids for U.S.-made rail cars for use in Michigan.
In total, the federal government will pay $551 million for 130 bi-level passenger cars.
"This important opportunity represents a win-win scenario for both workers and the traveling public by helping to create manufacturing jobs and support passenger rail," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.
The manufacturer will be selected by this fall, with cars to be delivered starting in 2015. A request for new locomotives will be announced later.
The Michigan Department of Transportation is also working with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to help suppliers find business opportunities.
"The new rail equipment is key to revitalizing our passenger rail service in Michigan," said Timothy Hoeffner, Michigan Department of Transportation, director of the Office of Rail. "It's what the public sees, touches and uses and therefore has a significant impact on the travel experience."
In May 2011, Michigan separately won $196.5 million to retrofit a 135-mile section of the Kalamazoo-to-Dearborn track for high-speed rail service. The work should wrap up by the end of 2013, allow trains to travel 79 mph - and eventually 100 mph - and cut travel time by 30 minutes from the current 5 hours and 45 minutes.
The service would still have the same number of stops but improved tracks slicing through Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.
For the 12-month-period ending Sept. 30, Amtrak trains in Michigan set ridership records.
The state said track work and freight slowdowns between Detroit and Chicago strongly affected the Wolverine service and contributed to slower growth than anticipated, but noted all three Amtrak lines in Michigan experienced increases in ridership.
For the year that ended Sept. 30, 503,290 passengers rode Amtrak Wolverine service trains on the Pontiac/Detroit-Chicago corridor, an increase of 4.9 percent from the same period a year ago. Ticket revenue was up by 11 percent to $18.8 million.
The Blue Water service on the Port Huron/East Lansing-Chicago route saw an 18.6 percent increase with 187,065 passengers using the Amtrak service. Ticket revenue was up by 22.3 percent to $5.8 million
Total riders on the Pere Marquette service on the Grand Rapids-Chicago route were up 4.7 percent with 106,662 passengers riding Amtrak, while ticket revenue rose 9.8 percent to $3.2 million.
Amtrak operates the Blue Water and Pere Marquette services under a contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation. But Amtrak does not receive any direct state support for the Wolverine service. Michigan is one of 15 states that provide state-supported service.

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