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Yesterday, the Michigan House of Representatives approved legislation that would help the state collect a total of $358.9 million in competitive federal grants for rail system improvements that would enable high-speed rail service between Detroit and Chicago, state Rep. Mark Ouimet announced in a press release. The state Senate approved the legislation last week.

SB237 also gives the state the go-ahead to spend $2.8 million in federal funding to help build a new rail station in Ann Arbor, Mich., that eventually would serve HSR trains, said Ouimet (R-Scion Township).

“High-speed rail represents the future of passenger rail service in the United States, and it’s only fitting that Ann Arbor become a hub for this groundbreaking mode of transportation,” he said in a prepared statement.
 
An HSR system could usher in an “economic boon” for Michigan, he added.

“The public and private sectors are working in tandem to improve Michigan’s overall infrastructure,” Ouimet said. “A rail system that can accommodate high-speed passenger service also allows for improved freight service, which is important for our economy as a whole.”

Earlier this week, the House Fiscal Agency released an analysis of SB237. In a section entitled “Rail Passenger Service,” the analysis states that the bill would increase spending authority in existing rail passenger service by $198.1 million to “allow for the expenditure of Federal Railroad Administration High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) grants.” Specifically, the grants involve: $187.5 million for the purchase and rehabilitation of 135.7 miles of track between Kalamazoo and Dearborn, currently owned by Norfolk Southern Railway; $800,000 for the development of a corridor investment plan in cooperation with Illinois and Indiana; $9.4 million for the West Detroit Connection track and bridge project; and $412,000 toward the construction of a new Amtrak station in Grand Rapids.

In addition, the agency states in a section titled “High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (ARRA)” that the legislation creates a new line item to authorize the expenditure of $200 million in HSIPR capital grants issued through the stimulus bill, including $196.5 million related to rehabilitation of the 135.7-mile Kalamazoo-to-Dearborn track, and $701,600 related to the construction of the new rail station in Ann Arbor.

— Julie Sneider