Detroit - Toledo train service

[bust]

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.

I'm not sure a shuttle between Detroit and Toledo wouldn't work considering there are several existing routes that pass through Toledo passengers can transfer to, and another one to Columbus planned. If for some reason the train must continue further, Detroit > Toledo > Cleveland > Pittsburgh > Philadelphia > New York [[etc.) is one possibility. Detroit > Toledo > Cleveland > Pittsburgh > D.C. [[etc.) is another. And passengers could transfer at Pittsburgh to the other destination. Or there is the Lakeshore Limited for an alternate route to NYC via Buffalo and upstate. The tracks are already there, serving routes from Chicago. The only missing piece is Detroit > Toledo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Amtrak_routes

Unlike a shuttle, at least in the beginning, ridership on a longer route probably wouldn't warrant more than daily service, perhaps alternating between routes to New York and D.C.. That wouldn't work for airport customers. But air trains could share the same tracks.

Building / rehabilitating the spur and running the service would undoubtedly cost much more than ticket revenue could ever support. But massive government investment built and supports our highway system and no one expects it to pay for itself. Imagine if we charged drivers usage fees enough to recoup that investment. On the contrary, we take for granted we drive our roadways for free. I never understood the double standard. Both road and rail are needed. Their benefits are to the wider economy.

That said BRT between Detroit and Toledo is certainly a cheaper solution, and more viable in the short term. But it's a shame the only rail option from Detroit is to Chicago. And that the route to Chicago is so infrequent and slow. Rail service most places in this country is of such poor availability, speed, and frequency no wonder more people don't use it. And tickets are expensive. It's rarely a practical option. We need to do something about that double standard.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

I recall seeing a few transit planning maps that included a BRT line that ran out Fort Street south to I-75 in Flat Rock and from there it went on I-75 to Monroe. It doesn't appear on the new Master Plan though.

I think it isn't on any current master plans because the RTA as structured by the legislature does not include Monroe County. That may be intentional and necessary at first [[building a core before thinking of expansion).