20 May 2009
Mich. Central Station's Fate Uncertain as New International Rail Tunnel Proposal Stews
Detroit Michigan USA - A proposal to build a new
railroad tunnel linking Michigan with Canada is making waves in a part of the city already grappling with the abandoned Michigan
Central Station, the long-abandoned towering railroad station Detroit officials want torn down, historic preservations
want to save, and others see as a potential development opportunity and possible stop on an international high-speed rail
line.
The Canadian Pacific Railway is asking the Canadian government to fund a $400 million project to build a rail tunnel adjacent to the
twin tunnel that emerges in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood between Bagley and Fort streets. Canadian Pacific wants the new rail
tunnel to accommodate tall double-stacked rail cars that can't pass through the existing Michigan Central Rail Tunnel
built in 1910.
Marge Byington, government affairs director for the Detroit River Tunnel Partnership, which owns and operates the existing tunnels,
said a new tunnel portal in Detroit would emerge further away from the river than the current opening because the new underground
crossing would be deeper and necessitate a longer approach to the surface.
As such, the new opening and tracks would likely be located in the middle of the current rail yard behind Michigan Central Station.
"There's no problem with the depot being there. The depot can be there. In fact [the proposed new tunnel portal] doesn't infringe
on any part of the depot," Byington said, adding that the land in question is owned by the partnership.
Michigan Central Station is controlled by billionaire Matty Moroun, who also owns the Ambassador Bridge a mile away. CenTra Inc., a
holding company of Moroun's, said it supports a new rail tunnel but believes the proposed location may not work.
"We've been supportive of the concept of a double-stack rail tunnel to benefit the region... but of course the devil
is in the details. There are other alignments that certainly work better," said CenTra's government relations director, Mickey
Blashfield.
The depot may not be an issue by the time a new tunnel and rail tracks are built as the Detroit City Council voted in April to destroy
the historic depot by using federal stimulus money and then charge Moroun for the cost.
But in an effort to make the depot a resource to the city instead of a drag, Moroun's company submitted a proposal to the federal
government's General Services Administration. The GSA is seeking to rent 50,000 square feet for 15 years on at least three acres of
land for the Department of Homeland Security in Detroit. It's unknown what precise deal Moroun's company is offering GSA, but
Blashfield said it is to rent the depot.
However, if GSA takes up Moroun's offer it will still leave a great deal of the building unoccupied, leaving room, potentially, for a
reopened transportation facility at the site. Blashfield said the company would be open to making the depot into a
multi-modal station accommodating high-speed rail and buses.
If a new freight tunnel is constructed, the old one could carry passenger rail from Detroit to Windsor, joining planned
high-speed rail corridors connecting Chicago to Detroit in the United States and Windsor to Quebec City in Canada.
Editor's Note: Planned? Not in Canada, it's only wishful thinking so far!
The two could hypothetically be joined to create international rail service like the one offered by Amtrak between Seattle and
Vancouver.
Neighborhood Impact
Not to be forgotten in the dealings between foreign governments and a billionaire businessman is the community that would absorb the
new rail line and tunnel: Mexicantown.
The neighborhood adjacent to Corktown is already criss-crossed with rail lines that emerge from the existing freight
tunnel and is bisected by roadways that connect to the Ambassador Bridge located on Mexicantown's riverfront.
Adding another tunnel and rail tracks to the infrastructure mix in the neighborhood could harm the area, said Mexicantown Community
Development Corporation Vice Chairwoman Fern Espino.
"If it's going to be what it sounds like... where a train comes up there, there would be train noise and there would be noise
pollution for the neighborhood," Espino said, adding that this would be less of a problem for Mexicantown than if the extra rail
capacity would reduce truck traffic from loading facilities that would congest and pollute the neighborhood, home to North America's
busiest international border crossing.
On the upside, the Detroit River Tunnel Partnership's Byington said construction would create 1,700 construction jobs and an
unspecified number of jobs to maintain the tunnels. However, Espino questioned whether these jobs would benefit the neighborhood.
"If it's 1,700 jobs and it's for our economic benefit there, where Mexicantown would actually benefit, then hooray," Espino
said. "But if it's 1,700 jobs for someone else to benefit and its detrimental to the environment and detrimental to health, then
no."
Byington said the Detroit River Tunnel Partnership will submit its environmental assessment to U.S. and Canadian officials within the
next few months so that the proposal can start being evaluated by relevant authorities on both sides of the border.
Justin Miller.
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