Originally Posted by
MikeyinBrooklyn
A few quick thoughts on this idea. On the surface it does seem odd that to travel by train from Detroit to Toledo requires a stop & switch in Chicago. But even financially foolish Amtrak would never run a spur between the two cities. It would need to be part of a larger route. Amtrak would not run service between Trenton NJ & Philadelphia if that were the extent of the route. I don't know what logical new route to and from Detroit would include a stop in Toledo.
A Toledo to the airport service would require significant subsidy to operate, even assuming infrastructure and rights were already in place. It would require MASSIVE subsidy to offer the frequency and reliability an airport shuttle service needs to attract significant ridership.
I think a more practical idea [[in the long term) is to expand the RTA down through Monroe County, and have a BRT line from Toledo to Detroit, with several stops along the way. This would necessitate coordination of services with Toledo & Ohio, of course. Perhaps the Detroit-to-Airport BRT line could be extended south from the airport station down to Monroe, where people on the Detroit to Toledo BRT route could transfer to the airport.