Lansing Snyder says rail service 'vital' to state's future

By Kathy Barks Hoffman Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Gov. Rick Snyder said Monday that a rail system connecting Michigan's largest city with its flagship university is long overdue and should be the centerpiece of a long-discussed push to make the state's public transit system faster and more expansive. Speaking to several people at the Michigan Rail Summit at the Lansing Center, Snyder said he often sees southbound traffic on U.S. 23 at a standstill as a state trooper drives him from his Ann Arbor-area home to his Lansing office each morning. "It's hard to be a more congested road than U.S. 23 at the wrong time of day," he said. "Either you have to do something with U.S. 23 or you need a commuter rail." The governor wants to see faster and expanded rail service throughout the state but especially in southeast Michigan. It's the largest metropolitan area in America that doesn't have a high capacity rapid transit service in place or under development The businessman-turned-governor told the crowd that he used to commute by rail every day from his home in the Chicago suburb of Barrington to his accounting job in the Chicago Loop. Michigan not only needs a commuter rail system, but it needs to tie it to local transportation so people can get from the train station to their destinations, he said. He added that's a problem in Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan, where the existing rail station is nowhere near destinations such as the hospital or downtown, as well as in other cities. But in his typical upbeat way, he said solutions can be found. He also said it's imperative to tie any passenger rail system in the region to Detroit Metropolitan Airport so travelers can take the train to the airport instead of having to drive. Last week, the governor recommended that a new Regional Transit Authority for southeast Michigan be set up to establish high-speed bus routes leading from downtown Detroit to its suburbs and Ann Arbor. He also wants to see faster passenger rail service from Pontiac and Detroit to Chicago. Nearly 800,000 passengers rode Amtrak trains in Michigan during the last fiscal year, a record. Improving passenger and freight rail service in Michigan will boost the state's economy by getting more goods to market and create ways for workers to commute to jobs throughout southeast Michigan, Snyder said. He's pushing for a new rail tunnel under the Detroit River connecting Michigan and Canada, a new bridge spanning the river separate from the existing Ambassador Bridge and rail and harbor improvements, including a new boat lock at Sault Ste. Marie. Michigan is well-positioned to become a major transportation hub linking the economies of Montreal and Toronto in Canada to Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis, he said. Improving rail service would help Michigan farmers and manufacturers export more goods and spur the state's economic recovery. "We need more jobs, and this is the one of the best ways to do it," Snyder said. "We have customers ready to go. Now we need to give them the infrastructure." Published: Wed, Nov 2, 2011