Michigan/Railroads

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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 relation 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 relation 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 relation 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 relation 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 relation 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 relation 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 relation 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.

Conrail Shared Assets (CSAO?, CRCX?, CRSH?)

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 relation 9440158 River Rouge - Dearborn No Elements are tagged usage=branch.
CSAO Michigan Line New York Central relation 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 relation 7425402 Grand Rapids - Plymouth No
Grand Rapids Terminal Subdivision relation 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 relation 5820362 Channing - Crivitz, Wisconsin Done Elements tagged usage=branch.
Channing and Republic relation 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 relation 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 relation 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 relation 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 relation 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 relation 11383433 Elmira - Petoskey Done. Stevea (talk) 01:01, 16 December 2024 (UTC) Terminates at Petoskey. Elements tagged usage=branch.
Elmira Branch relation 9626169 Cadillac - Elmira ~45% Reviewed Continues towards Petoskey. Elements tagged usage=branch.
Yuma Branch relation 9626170 Cadillac - Yuma No Serves Wexford Sand Co. in Yuma, Michigan. Elements tagged usage=branch.
Cadillac Branch relation 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 relation 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) relation 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

relation 10322763

regional

CHI→PTH:
364 relation 1687374
PTH→CHI:
365 relation 11879713

Routing (3/4)Stops (3/4) Complete; public_transport v2. 319 miles (513 km). Underlying infrastructure (route=railway) relations need fixing (there is a "track split" on Flint Subdivision east of Battle Creek). Part of "Michigan Services."
Pere Marquette

relation 10322746

regional

CHI→GRR:
370 relation 2744526
GRR→CHI:
371 relation 11851451

Routing (3/4)Stops (3/4) Complete; public_transport v2. 176 miles (283 km). Underlying infrastructure (route=railway) relations need review. Part of "Michigan Services."
Wolverine

relation 10322740

regional

CHI→PNT:
350 relation 1665342
352 relation 12044090
354 relation 12044091
PNT→CHI:
351 relation 11879712
353 relation 12044088
355 relation 12044089

Routing (3/4)Stops (3/4) Complete; public_transport v2. 304 miles (489 km), a "higher-speed" corridor and service, contrasted with Acela, Amtrak's highest speed service. Underlying infrastructure (route=railway) relations need fixing. Part of "Michigan Services."

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 way 565483164 Area is mapped, appears okay.
CSX Wyoming Yard CSX Transportation Q856783 Wyoming node 8204079242
Conrail Sterling Yard Conrail Shared Assets Operations Q5162679 Sterling Heights way 671375667
Moterm Intermodal Terminal Canadian National Railway Q624798 Ferndale way 555498679
Detroit Intermodal Terminal Canadian Pacific Kansas City Q117706368 way 555500939
Schaefer Yard Canadian National Railway Q624798 way 638788110
Delray Intermodal Terminal Norfolk Southern Railway Q1321054 Detroit way 555491938
DCRR Zug Island Yard Delray Connecting Railroad Q5254498 way 570801739
NS Livernois Intermodal Yard Norfolk Southern Railway Q1321054 way 555498226
Boat Yard Norfolk Southern Railway Q1321054 way 565570970
Transflo 12th Street Yard CSX Transportation Q856783 way 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 relation 9768475 Osseo to Hillsdale, Michigan
Bergland to Sidnaw Rail-Trail Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railway relation 5941263 Bergland to Sidnaw 1989
Betsey Valley Trail relation 1878390 Thompsonville to Elberta
Dequindre Cut Greenway Grand Trunk Western Railroad relation 12399543 Detroit Local pedestrian, bicycle trail
Fred Meijer Heartland Trail Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad relation 283539 Greenville northeast to Alma, Michigan Reviewed by Circuit_Rider Regional hiking, bicycle trail
Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail Grand Trunk Western Railroad relation 9767417 Lowell to Owosso
Kal-Haven Trail New York Central Railroad/Michigan Central Railroad relation 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 relation 9768483 Adrian to Tecumseh Need last operator and start/end date for operations
Leelanau Trail Chesapeake and Ohio Railway relation 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 relation 13212029 Mesick to Thompsonville
Van Buren Trail Pere Marquette Railroad relation 6138837 Hartford to South Haven Built by Toledo & South Haven Railroad, part of PM's Paw Paw Branch
West Bloomfield Trail relation 272123 West Bloomfield-Commerce township limits east to Sylvan Lake
White Pine Trail State Park relation 273878 Grand Rapids north to Cadillac, Michigan Reviewed by pkoby Regional hiking, bicycle trail. Colinear with Relation: North Country National Scenic Trail (MI) relation 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 way 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 relation 13226657 Mecosta - Barryton 1893 1943 Not from TIGER Digitized from USGS 3DEP data
Chicago Kalamazoo & Saginaw Railroad relation 13060734 Woodbury - Hastings 1889 1937 Not from TIGER Digitized from USGS 3DEP data
Chicago Kalamazoo & Saginaw Railroad relation 13107181 Hastings - Richland Junction 1888 1942 Not in TIGER Digitized from USGS 3DEP data
Chippewa Branch relation 13226780 Chippewa Lake - Rodney 1883 1906 Not from TIGER Digitized from USGS 3DEP data
Cisco Lake Branch relation 13212488 Stickley - Cisco Lake Not in TIGER Digitized from USGS 3DEP data
Edmore to Remus Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad relation 13226421 Edmore - Remus 1880 1980 No Originally built by Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad
Elk Rapids Branch Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad relation 13211266 Williamsburg - Elk Rapids 1892 1979 Partial Former C&O Railroad branch
Hamilton Subdivision Pere Marquette Railroad relation 13232538 Hamilton - Allegan Done
Ionia to Belding relation 13231944 Ionia - Belding (Kidd/Kiddville) 1870 1942 Not from TIGER Needs last railway operator field entered
Lake Shore & Southern Railway New York Central relation 13406022 Adrian - Osseo Done Needs dates entered, continues on as Baw Beese Trail relation 9768475
Paw Paw Railroad Pere Marquette Railroad relation 13232539 Paw Paw - Lawton Not from TIGER Digitized from USGS 3DEP data
Remus to Big Rapids Pere Marquette Railroad relation 13226779 Remus - Big Rapids 1880 1943 No Originally built by Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad
Stanton Branch relation 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 relation 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 relation 13226422 Remus - Weidman 1884 1944 Not from TIGER Digitized from USGS 3DEP data
West Michigan Railroad relation 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.

Name operator:wikidata=* Predecessor start_date=* Successor end_date=*
Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway Q3024776 1878 Grand Trunk Western Railroad 1928-11-01
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Q3216463 Multiple 1869 New York Central Railroad
Huckleberry Railroad Q5928128
Ann Arbor Railroad Q558087 1895 1976
Grand Trunk Western Railroad Q3114621 Multiple 1928
Michigan Central Railroad Q783387 Detroit and Charlevoix Railroad 1832 New York Central Railroad 1968
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad Q3024775 Ohio Southern Railroad 1905 Grand Trunk Western Railroad 1983
Adrian and Blissfield Rail Road Q374687 Tecumseh Branch Connecting Railroad 1991
Jackson and Lansing Railroad Q65117393
Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway Q3041133
Grand Rapids, Kalkaska and Southeastern Railroad Q5594984
Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Q628919
Marquette Rail Q6772615
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Q1070560 1878
Ann Arbor Railroad (1988) Q15141302 Michigan Interstate Railway Company 1988