Michigan/Railroads
Due to recent wiki and associated software upgrades, map details below are not-quite-correct. One click fix: please select "Transport Map" from the upper-right "layers stack" icon to see the railway routes as part of the USA's national-scale rail infrastructure. This is a "live" slippy map; it can be panned and zoomed.
Michigan’s rail system has approximately 3,600 miles of rail corridors, operated by 29 railroads. Four of USA's seven Class I railroads operate in Michigan. The system carries about 17 percent of all the state’s freight tonnage and 21 percent of the commodities by value. This system also supports three intercity passenger=regional route=trains.
Editing Railroads starting from TIGER data
Please read United_States/Railways#Editing_Railroads_starting_from_TIGER_data .
Current State of the Map (Michigan/Railroads)
As TIGER cleanup and better usage=* tagging have progressed, OpenRailwayMap (ORM)'s wider zoom levels <8 show Michigan to have a structure of mainline (orange) rail along the south of the state: New Buffalo - Grand Rapids - Lansing - Flint - Point Huron - Detroit - Erie Township. At zoom level ≥8, branch rail (yellow) is seen to span both of Michigan's peninsulas. Please correct any errors of missing or incorrect usage=* and name=* tags. With the completion of the tables below (especially "Unsorted") to reflect all rail data in OSM (from TIGER and since) and finishing Passenger rail starting with Amtrak and Historic/Tourism railroads, this wiki will become alpha; as of December 2024, this wiki approaches alpha.
Errors remain in both rail infrastructure (tagging on ways) and routes; please use both route=railway (infrastructure collections according to rail company or other ownership) and route=train (passenger services) relations to gather current ways into singular routes for better tracking and inclusion in status tables below. Passenger rail is only Amtrak-stubbed in this wiki; please complete additional specific passenger services like Q-line (Detroit Light Rail), DPM (Detroit People Mover), et cetera. Heritage / historic services (tourism-oriented rail where ways tagged railway=rail are also correctly tagged usage=tourism) are to be included in their own (now stubbed and empty) wiki section.
Suggestions
Please leave suggestions here for issues to address.
• Using OpenRailwayMap (ORM), look around at zoom level ≥13: many tendrils of inactive disused or abandoned railway were imported into OSM as mid-2000s TIGER (Census Bureau) data. You might improve tagging on these rail data with, for example, explicit more-accurate-as-of-now tags of railway=disused or railway=abandoned or even railway=razed.
• All active rail should have usage=* tags of (usually) main, branch, industrial or military. (Or a service=* tag). Organizing as Mainline and Branch sections is early: use ORM to better wiki all railway=rail into tables organized by owner / operator and usage=*. Some rail might be better tagged usage=industrial or service=spur or other more-specific tagging.
• As you TIGER Review and consider usage=industrial tags, see if you can better-tag spurs and service tracks: service=spur, service=siding, service=yard, service=crossover. Tag either usage=* or service=*, never both of these tags on the same way.
• As individual ways are tagged correctly, including being fully TIGER Reviewed, progress to "an entire route=railway is correct" (TIGER Reviewed, accurate alignment, all other infrastructure tags are correct, sorts as contiguous...), eventually completing route=train (passenger rail) route relations.
• See the Wikidata link for transport companies that operated in Michigan. Please consider adding the "Q" wikidata item code to relations for railroads in Michigan using the key operator:wikidata=*. More possible queries for Q131 "instance of" field are "railway company", "Class III Railroad".
Mainline rail
Some lines (correctly associated with their owner / operator, such as Norfolk Southern / NS) are missing from this wiki, such as Detroit District and Saginaw Subdivision. Especially for Mainline rail, please complete this section with all owners / operators who operate mainline rail and their lines in a table.
Canadian National (CN)
It seems like only a modest effort to get this entire sub-section TIGER Reviewed and from yellow to fully green!
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dearborn Subdivision | Detroit, Toledo & Ironton | 9685571![]() |
Dearborn - Woodhaven | >75% Reviewed | Elements are tagged usage=branch. For now, keep this in mainline; may breakout into a branch table. |
Flat Rock Subdivision | Detroit, Toledo & Ironton | 9689357![]() |
River Rouge - Diann | >75% Reviewed | Elements are tagged usage=branch. For now, keep this in mainline; may breakout into a branch table. |
Flint Subdivision | Grand Trunk Western | 4766900![]() |
Battle Creek - Sarnia, Ontario, Canada | Done. Stevea (talk) 05:26, 16 December 2024 (UTC) | Elements are tagged usage=main. Much is double- (or quad-?) tracked, but not all rail elements are in OSM or this relation. Please improve with all tracks. |
Holly Subdivision | Grand Trunk Western | 9716790![]() |
Detroit - Durand | >65% Reviewed | Elements are mostly tagged usage=main, but this tagging is a little ragged in this relation |
Mount Clemens Subdivision | Grand Trunk Western | 9843070![]() |
Detroit - Port Huron | Lightly Reviewed | Elements are mostly tagged usage=main, but this tagging is a little ragged in this relation |
Shore Line Subdivision | Detroit & Toledo Shore Line | 14696200![]() |
Detroit - Toledo, Ohio | Somewhat Reviewed | Gap in subdivision in Detroit due to trackage rights over NS. Elements are mostly tagged usage=main, but there is usage=branch tagging at either end. |
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC)
Only a short segment crossing Detroit's Rosa Parks Boulevard is in Michigan. Elements are tagged usage=main. CPKC is North America's only tri-national railroad.
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windsor Subdivision | Canadian Pacific | 4766982![]() |
Detroit - Windsor, Ontario, Canada - London, Ontario, Canada | Done. Stevea (talk) 05:45, 16 December 2024 (UTC) | These are the only CPKC-owned tracks in Michigan. Please assure that all double- (quad-?) tracking is correct where necessary west of the CPKC Rail Tunnel at the Canadian border. |
Keep this in the mainline section even as one of its rows is branch.
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Junction Yard Running Track | New York Central | 9440158![]() |
River Rouge - Dearborn | No | Elements are tagged usage=branch. |
CSAO Michigan Line | New York Central | 9838519![]() |
CPKC Windsor Subdivision - MDOT Michigan Line | No | Elements are tagged usage=main. |
CSX Transportation (CSX)
Tag these with the relevant old_railway_operator=* for former railroad operations. These have elements tagged usage=main.
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plymouth Subdivision | 7425402![]() |
Grand Rapids - Plymouth | No | ||
Grand Rapids Terminal Subdivision | 11991976![]() |
Plymouth subdivision - Grand Rapids Rail Terminal | Partial | Has some "track splits" that need improvement, is this double-tracked throughout? |
Michigan Department of Transportaion (MDOT?)
Please complete this table of all MDOT mainline rail (such as "Michigan Line"), whether in OSM or not.
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
? |
From MDOT's website: "MDOT manages 665 miles of state-owned rail lines. These five lines are operated under contract by five freight railroads. Intercity passenger rail service is also provided by Amtrak on a 135-mile state-owned line between Kalamazoo and Dearborn." Here is a map of Michigan's rail network showing each rail carrier / company and their lines.
Norfolk Southern (NS)
Please complete this table of all NS mainline rail, whether in OSM or not.
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
? |
Branch rail
Please add lines where missing, for example, complete a table with Delray Connecting Railroad lines. Separate branch rail networks are seen on each of Michigan's two peninsulas.
Delray Connecting Railroad (DC, DCRR)
A Class III railroad operating on Zug Island, city of River Rouge, south of Detroit, interchanging with Canadian National, Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation and Conrail.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
? |
Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad (ELS)
A Class III shortline railroad operating 347 miles (558 km) of track in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Northeastern Wisconsin.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Channing and Ontonagon | Channing - Ontonagon | |||
Channing to Crivitz subdivision | 5820362![]() |
Channing - Crivitz, Wisconsin | Done | Elements tagged usage=branch. |
Channing and Republic | 5944394![]() |
Channing - Republic | Done | Elements tagged usage=branch. |
Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad (GR)
27 miles (43 km) of trackage hauling largely grain, lumber and sodium carbonate. One of Gennesse & Wyoming's many Class III railroads, a subsidiary of this "rail holding company."
Name | operator=* | old_railway_operator=* (where known) | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad | Gennesse & Wyoming, Inc. | Grand Trunk Western | 13207375![]() |
Grand Rapids - Lowell | Partial | Needs additional tagging |
Great Lakes Central Railroad (GLC)
A Class II regional rail carrier. Tag these with the relevant old_railway_operator=* for former railroad operations.
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Williamsburg Branch | Pere Marquette | 9626171![]() |
Williamsburg = Traverse City | No tiger_reviewed=no tags, so, seems to be Reviewed (Done) | Serves Amerhart lumber mill in Williamsburg. Elements tagged usage=branch. |
Grawn Branch | Pere Marquette | 9626166![]() |
Traverse City - Grawn | No tiger_reviewed=no tags, so, seems to be Reviewed (Done) | Services Materne North America, a food processing company. Elements tagged usage=branch. Segment W of Grawn is disused. |
Traverse City Branch | 9626167![]() |
Traverse City - Walton Junction | No tiger_reviewed=no tags, so, seems to be Reviewed (Done) | Branches from Elmira route at Walton Junction, has subranches to Grawn and Williamsburg. Elements tagged usage=branch. | |
Petoskey Branch | 11383433![]() |
Elmira - Petoskey | Done. Stevea (talk) 01:01, 16 December 2024 (UTC) | Terminates at Petoskey. Elements tagged usage=branch. | |
Elmira Branch | 9626169![]() |
Cadillac - Elmira | ~45% Reviewed | Continues towards Petoskey. Elements tagged usage=branch. | |
Yuma Branch | 9626170![]() |
Cadillac - Yuma | No | Serves Wexford Sand Co. in Yuma, Michigan. Elements tagged usage=branch. | |
Cadillac Branch | 9626174![]() |
Cadillac - Durand | ~10% Reviewed | Main line to Cadillac with branches to Yuma, Traverse City, Petoskey. Elements tagged usage=branch. |
Lake State Railway (LSRC)
Moving aggregate, limestone, coal, grain, and chemical products.
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alpena Branch | Detroit and Mackinac Railway | 12498086![]() |
Alpena - Pinconning | No | Elements are tagged usage=branch. |
Industrial rail
Should any railroads from the Unsorted section (below) be determined to be "industrial," (railway tracks in private use that serve only freight transport from/to ports, industrial complexes or mining areas, and for connecting these to the public network) please include them in a table in this section. Examples: large surface mining areas (coal, minerals, ore), chemical industry, large harbours, high-density industrial oil refinery areas. In the USA, rail tagged usage=industrial also may serve factories or clusters of industrial activity along a rail spur in (often urban) industrial-zoned areas. This could include significant branches of existing rail in Michigan now in OSM.
Unsorted railroads
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Elk Railroad (GDLK) | 9386381![]() |
Grand Rapids - Kalamazoo | No | Missing name=* and operator=* tags |
Please complete research (in OSM data) of all Michigan railroads:
Adrian and Blissfield Rail Road (ADBF), Ann Arbor Railroad (AA), Charlotte Southern Railroad (CHS), Coopersville and Marne Railway (CPMY), Detroit Connecting Railroad (DCON), Hamilton Northwestern Railroad (HNW), Huron and Eastern Railway (HESR), Indiana Northeastern Railroad (IN), Indiana and Ohio Railway (IORY), Jackson and Lansing Railroad (JAIL), Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad (LSI), Lapeer Industrial Railroad (LIRR), Marquette Rail, LLC (MQT), Michigan Shore Railroad (MS), Michigan Southern Railroad (MSO), Mid-Michigan Railroad (MMRR), Mineral Range Railroad (MRA), West Michigan Railroad (WMI)
and possibly others; these wiki tables remain incomplete. Overpass Turbo queries and ORM (link above, zoom in and use a "pan and scan" strategy) can help to bridge the gap, completing this wiki to alpha status. It is easy to text-edit that OT query to search for other tags, such as: way[railway]["usage"="branch"](area.searchArea); then click OT's Run button.
As some of these rail elements may be untouched from our mid-2000s TIGER import, please assure correct name=*, operator=* and believed-correct usage=* tags which may vacillate between branch and industrial due to discussions / emerging consensus. Though, service=* tags with values of [spur, siding, yard, crossover] are often easier to unambiguously assign.
Passenger trains
Please add Q-Line, DPM, other Michigan passenger trains, but not historic / heritage / museum / tourism passenger rail (see next section).
Amtrak passenger=regional "Michigan Services"
Blue Water, Pere Marquette and Wolverine are Amtrak™'s three passenger=regional (intercity) trains making up its "Michigan Services" (one of which, Wolverine, is a "higher-speed" service):
ref=* | passenger=* | Origin→Destination, trip_ref=* as Train #, type=route | Status and Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Blue Water
10322763 |
regional | ![]() ![]() | |
Pere Marquette
10322746 |
regional | ![]() ![]() | |
Wolverine
10322740 |
regional |
CHI→PNT:
|
![]() ![]() |
Light rail, "city" passenger=urban services
Please add Q-Line.
Tram, monorail, "People Mover" passenger=local services
Please add Detroit People Mover.
Historic / heritage / museum / tourism rail
Add passenger services which are historic, heritage, museum or tourism-oriented rail, where railway=rail elements are also correctly tagged usage=tourism. This includes Coopersville and Marne Railway and possibly others.
Yards
Name | operator=* | operator:wikidata=* | Area | Subdivision(s) Served | TIGER Review | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CSX Dix Intermodal Yard | CSX Transportation | Q856783 | Detroit | 565483164![]() | ||
CSX Wyoming Yard | CSX Transportation | Q856783 | Wyoming | 8204079242![]() | ||
Conrail Sterling Yard | Conrail Shared Assets Operations | Q5162679 | Sterling Heights | 671375667![]() | ||
Moterm Intermodal Terminal | Canadian National Railway | Q624798 | Ferndale | 555498679![]() | ||
Detroit Intermodal Terminal | Canadian Pacific Kansas City | Q117706368 | 555500939![]() | |||
Schaefer Yard | Canadian National Railway | Q624798 | 638788110![]() | |||
Delray Intermodal Terminal | Norfolk Southern Railway | Q1321054 | Detroit | 555491938![]() | ||
DCRR Zug Island Yard | Delray Connecting Railroad | Q5254498 | 570801739![]() | |||
NS Livernois Intermodal Yard | Norfolk Southern Railway | Q1321054 | 555498226![]() | |||
Boat Yard | Norfolk Southern Railway | Q1321054 | 565570970![]() | |||
Transflo 12th Street Yard | CSX Transportation | Q856783 | 162762342![]() |
Railtrails and "Transitways"
A railtrail uses a (usually former, abandoned) railroad right-of-way (ROW) for equestrian, bicycle or hiking paths, preserving the ROW for possible future re-use as a railway while providing a useful service in the meantime. These are often tagged highway=cycleway or highway=footway depending on whether they prefer or allow bicycle or pedestrian traffic. It is OK to tag both railway=abandoned and highway=cycleway if it is the case that an abandoned railway became a railtrail (for bicycle use, for example). Where a (multi-use) pathway is designated for pedestrians but also allows bicycles, tag highway=footway and bicycle=yes. A transitway is a railway=abandoned repurposed as dedicated ROW to serve a bus route.
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | start_date=* | end_date=* | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baw Beese Trail | Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway | 9768475![]() |
Osseo to Hillsdale, Michigan | ||||
Bergland to Sidnaw Rail-Trail | Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railway | 5941263![]() |
Bergland to Sidnaw | 1989 | |||
Betsey Valley Trail | 1878390![]() |
Thompsonville to Elberta | |||||
Dequindre Cut Greenway | Grand Trunk Western Railroad | 12399543![]() |
Detroit | Local pedestrian, bicycle trail | |||
Fred Meijer Heartland Trail | Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad | 283539![]() |
Greenville northeast to Alma, Michigan | Reviewed by Circuit_Rider | Regional hiking, bicycle trail | ||
Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail | Grand Trunk Western Railroad | 9767417![]() |
Lowell to Owosso | ||||
Kal-Haven Trail | New York Central Railroad/Michigan Central Railroad | 272890![]() |
Kalamazoo to South Haven, MI | 1871 | 1973 | Reviewed by jonesydesign | Regional hiking, bicycle trail. Originally Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad, needs start/end_date and railway/abandoned tags |
Kiwanis Trail | 9768483![]() |
Adrian to Tecumseh | Need last operator and start/end date for operations | ||||
Leelanau Trail | Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | 281863![]() |
Traverse City to Suttons Bay | 1903 | Originally Traverse City, Leelanau & Manistique Railroad, owned by Leelanau Transit Co., last operated as Leelanau Scenic Railroad in the 1990's? | ||
Snowmobile Trail No. 37 | 13212029![]() |
Mesick to Thompsonville | |||||
Van Buren Trail | Pere Marquette Railroad | 6138837![]() |
Hartford to South Haven | Built by Toledo & South Haven Railroad, part of PM's Paw Paw Branch | |||
West Bloomfield Trail | 272123![]() |
West Bloomfield-Commerce township limits east to Sylvan Lake | |||||
White Pine Trail State Park | 273878![]() |
Grand Rapids north to Cadillac, Michigan | Reviewed by pkoby | Regional hiking, bicycle trail. Colinear with Relation: North Country National Scenic Trail (MI) 11140515![]() |
Disused lines
Lines, expressed as route=railway relations or simply a way, that don't have regular traffic but with all infrastructure (including steel rails) in place. Tracks are tagged railway=disused. There are many minor spurs listed as disused, for now major segments are listed below:
Name | Way or Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wells and Channing | 395720674![]() |
Wells - Channing | No tiger_reviewed=no tags, so consider this Reviewed | Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad |
Abandoned lines
Former railroad lines, whether still visible on the ground or not, correctly expressed as route=railway relations. Ways are usually tagged railway=abandoned, occasionally railway=disused or rarely railway=razed.
Name | old_railway_operator=* | Relation | Route | start_date=* | end_date=* | TIGER Review | Notes or Reviewed by |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barryton Branch | Pere Marquette Railroad | 13226657![]() |
Mecosta - Barryton | 1893 | 1943 | Not from TIGER | Digitized from USGS 3DEP data |
Chicago Kalamazoo & Saginaw Railroad | 13060734![]() |
Woodbury - Hastings | 1889 | 1937 | Not from TIGER | Digitized from USGS 3DEP data | |
Chicago Kalamazoo & Saginaw Railroad | 13107181![]() |
Hastings - Richland Junction | 1888 | 1942 | Not in TIGER | Digitized from USGS 3DEP data | |
Chippewa Branch | 13226780![]() |
Chippewa Lake - Rodney | 1883 | 1906 | Not from TIGER | Digitized from USGS 3DEP data | |
Cisco Lake Branch | 13212488![]() |
Stickley - Cisco Lake | Not in TIGER | Digitized from USGS 3DEP data | |||
Edmore to Remus | Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad | 13226421![]() |
Edmore - Remus | 1880 | 1980 | No | Originally built by Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad |
Elk Rapids Branch | Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad | 13211266![]() |
Williamsburg - Elk Rapids | 1892 | 1979 | Partial | Former C&O Railroad branch |
Hamilton Subdivision | Pere Marquette Railroad | 13232538![]() |
Hamilton - Allegan | Done | |||
Ionia to Belding | 13231944![]() |
Ionia - Belding (Kidd/Kiddville) | 1870 | 1942 | Not from TIGER | Needs last railway operator field entered | |
Lake Shore & Southern Railway | New York Central | 13406022![]() |
Adrian - Osseo | Done | Needs dates entered, continues on as Baw Beese Trail 9768475![]() | ||
Paw Paw Railroad | Pere Marquette Railroad | 13232539![]() |
Paw Paw - Lawton | Not from TIGER | Digitized from USGS 3DEP data | ||
Remus to Big Rapids | Pere Marquette Railroad | 13226779![]() |
Remus - Big Rapids | 1880 | 1943 | No | Originally built by Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad |
Stanton Branch | 13231945![]() |
Ionia (Stanton Junction/Haynor) - Stanton | 1872 | 1933 | Not from TIGER | Needs last railroad operator field entered, originally Ionia, Stanton and Northern Railroad | |
Traverse City, Leelanau & Manistique Railroad | Leelanau Transit Company | 13211030![]() |
Suttons Bay - Northport | 1903 | 1960s? | No | Abandonment date is unclear, GR&I ended rail service in 1914 but rails taken up in 1960s? Once served a rail ferry to Manistique, MI |
Weidman Branch | Pere Marquette Railroad | 13226422![]() |
Remus - Weidman | 1884 | 1944 | Not from TIGER | Digitized from USGS 3DEP data |
West Michigan Railroad | 13232540![]() |
Lawrence - Paw Paw | Done |
Railway Operators
Following is list of transit company operators associated with Michigan from a wikidata query. Missing or inaccurate data should be added to the Wikidata item directly or the associated Wikipedia article. Hint: if a company is missing from this query for Michigan, add the tag "locale=" with value of Michigan in the company infobox on Wikipedia. Please limit use of old_railway_operator, especially if a line has had multiple operators. Instead, please consider creating a relation for a defunct railroad company in OpenHistoricalMap instead- specifically see the OpenHistoricalMap Railways Project.