Blue Water (train)
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Operating speed | 49 mph (79 km/h) (avg.) 110 mph (180 km/h) (top) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Track owner(s) | CN, Amtrak, MDOT, NS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Blue Water (previously the Blue Water Limited) is a
Amtrak began running the Blue Water in 1974[3] over the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. In 1982 the train was extended from Port Huron to Toronto, Canada, and renamed the International Limited. Service was cut back to the original route in 2004 with the Blue Water name restored.[3]
History
The
Amtrak renamed the train the Blue Water Limited on October 26, 1975, and re-equipped it with French-built Turboliner trainsets on May 20, 1976. The new Turboliners were capable of, but never reached, 125 mph (201 km/h) and ran with fixed five-car consists with an overall capacity of 292 passengers. The Turboliners were withdrawn on October 25, 1981, replaced by conventional locomotives pulling Amfleet coaches.[4]: 204, 208
The long-discussed extension to Toronto finally occurred on October 31, 1982. The extended service received the name International Limited, the name of an old
With a more favorable intrastate schedule and fewer delays, the Blue Water's ridership showed immediate improvements, carrying 94,378 passengers in fiscal year 2004 (compared to 80,890 in FY 2003).[4]: 208 Blue Water ridership in FY 2011 totaled 187,065, an increase of 18.0 percent from FY 2010's total of 157,709, and the highest total ever recorded by the train.[7] During FY 2011, the train had a total revenue of $5.8 million, a 22.3 percent increase from FY 2010's total of $4.7 million.[7]
The Detroit–Chicago corridor has been designated by the Federal Railroad Administration as a high-speed rail corridor.[8] A 97-mile (156 km) stretch along the route of Blue Water from Porter, Indiana to Kalamazoo, Michigan is the longest segment of track owned by Amtrak outside of the Northeast Corridor.[8] Amtrak began speed increases along this stretch in January 2002. Ultimately, speed increased to 110 mph (180 km/h).[8][9]
Route details
The Blue Water operates over Norfolk Southern Railway, Amtrak, and Grand Trunk Western Railroad trackage:
- NS Chicago Line, Chicago to Porter, Indiana
- Amtrak Chicago–Detroit Line, Porter, Indiana, to Kalamazoo, Michigan
- MDOT Michigan Line, Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Battle Creek, Michigan[10]
- CN/GTW Flint Subdivision, Battle Creek, Michigan, to Port Huron, Michigan
Station stops
Consist
A typical Amtrak Blue Water consists of:[11]
- 2 GE Genesis P40DC/P42DC or Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotives
- Five or Six Horizon Fleet or AmfleetI coaches
- One or Two Horizon Fleet or AmfleetI cafe/business cars
References
- ^ "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2023 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ^ a b "Amtrak Timetable Results". www.amtrak.com. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ a b "Michigan's Railroad History 1825 - 2014" (PDF). Michigan Department of Transportation. October 13, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
- Amtrak NewsSeptember 1, 1974, page 4
- ^ Michigan's Blue Water Chicago-Port Huron Inaugural Sep 13 Amtrak News October 1, 1974, pages 4/5
- ^ a b "Amtrak reports record Michigan ridership". The Grand Rapids Press. October 14, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2005" (PDF). Amtrak. Retrieved October 30, 2006.
- ^ "Michigan: Amtrak taking service to new speeds". WNDU-TV. Archived from the original on November 12, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2006.
- Booth Newspapers. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
- ^ "Blue Water". TrainWeb. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
Notes
- ^ Amtrak's Fiscal Year (FY) runs from October 1 of the prior year to September 30 of the named year.