Lake Cities (Amtrak train)
| Overview | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service type | Inter-city rail | ||||
| Status | Discontinued | ||||
| Locale | Michigan | ||||
| Predecessor | St. Clair | ||||
| First service | August 3, 1980 | ||||
| Last service | April 26, 2004 | ||||
| Successor | Wolverine | ||||
| Route | |||||
| Termini | Chicago, Illinois Toledo, Ohio | ||||
| Distance travelled | 335 miles (539 km) | ||||
| Average journey time | 7 hours 30 minutes | ||||
| |||||
The Lake Cities was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois and Toledo, Ohio via Detroit, Michigan. It was formerly known as the St. Clair, a Chicago–Detroit train which operated in tandem with the Wolverine. The extension to Toledo gave travelers in Michigan the opportunity to connect with eastbound trains such as the Lake Shore Limited without backtracking to Chicago.[1]: 81–82
The Lake Cities made its first run on August 3, 1980, using the same Turboliner equipment as its predecessor.[2] Amtrak re-routed the Lake Cities to Pontiac, Michigan in 1995, mirroring the route of the Wolverine and the Twilight Limited.[3] The Detroit–Toledo segment was replaced by Thruway Motorcoach service. Amtrak proposed to restore the Lake Cities to Toledo as part of its network growth strategy in the late 1990s but ultimately cancelled the project.[4] As of 2013[update] it is still not possible to travel by train to or from Michigan without passing through Chicago's Union Station. On April 26, 2004 Amtrak dropped the individual names for the Chicago–Detroit–Pontiac trains, naming them all the "Wolverine."[5]
The Ohio Rail Development Commission proposed restoring service to the Detroit–Toledo corridor as part of its "Ohio Hub" initiative. Under it Detroit would be connected to Ohio by a Detroit–Toledo–Cleveland service (eight trains daily) and potentially also a Detroit–Toledo–Columbus service (eight trains daily).[6]
Notes
- ^ Goldberg, Bruce (1981). Amtrak--the first decade. Silver Spring, MD: Alan Books. OCLC 7925036.
- ^ "Michigan–Toledo Runs Instituted By Amtrak". Toledo Blade. July 9, 1980. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ GAO (2002), 20.
- ^ GAO (2002), 10; 22.
- ^ "Wolverine and Blue Water service" (PDF). Amtrak. October 27, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ Ohio Rail Development Commission (2007), 3–1.
References
- Government Accounting Office (April 2002). "INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL: Amtrak Needs to Improve Its Decisionmaking Process for Its Route and Service Proposals". Retrieved 2009-02-28.
- Ohio Rail Development Commission (July 2007). "The Ohio & Lake Erie Regional Rail Ohio Hub Study: Technical Memorandum & Business Plan". Retrieved 2009-03-01.