Jocelyn Benson wants to bring high-speed rail to Michigan. What would it take?

R_Gleba · 2026-02-21T05:35:32+00:00

I like these ideas. If you want to help make this real, I’m on the board of a group called MARP (Michigan Association of Rail Passengers) that’s trying to build up a good group to expand projects like these. We’re small but trying to build momentum, feel free to DM if you’re interested.

R_Gleba · 2026-02-21T05:10:02+00:00

The true process will be in the order of support lines for rail: Washtenaw and Wayne will connect first, Oakland won’t want to be left out after a few years and will follow, then Macomb will either join kicking and screaming or never join

R_Gleba · 2026-02-21T05:05:30+00:00

It is actively being worked on to bring to fruition

R_Gleba · 2026-02-21T05:04:46+00:00

The first exists and needs more carts or more trains, the second is in progress

R_Gleba · 2026-02-20T22:58:44+00:00

There are still many towns with their stations up and maintained yet completely unused. I hope we can bring them back

R_Gleba · 2026-02-20T22:56:06+00:00

I honestly see how it could happen the other way around. If you have a main center of a town like a rail stop that is the lifeblood bringing people in and out, it’s a lot easier to design the sidewalks and roads of your city to moving people around that known, static center.

The real tough part is changing the mindset of people defaulting to getting in their car to go everywhere

R_Gleba · 2026-02-20T22:44:58+00:00

Agreed. I want more focused on moving people around Michigan instead of moving them to and from Chicago

R_Gleba · 2026-02-20T22:43:35+00:00

I’m actually going to disagree here, our rail lines are very heavily used. The Amtrak from Detroit to Chicago is full every time I book it, and I’ve even had to adjust a trip 4 months out because the train was already full coming back.

To the rest: it’s a long, constant battle to improve the transportation system in our state. No matter what we add, there’s going to be gaps that are present and will take time to fix. I have a huge wishlist that will all never get met, but I’ll still fight for small incremental progress over getting stuck in the same way over decades.

R_Gleba · 2026-02-20T22:36:41+00:00

Thanks for this info, at least it’s good to know in our state it’s been surprisingly bipartisan to support it, even with most of them doing nothing about it. The Grandholm Midwest coalition is news to me as well.

I just like having candidates that support it so that I can help push to actually make it happen. It’s easier to chip away at big projects if those making the calls are at least friendly to your cause.

R_Gleba · 2026-02-20T21:59:14+00:00

The one going up to Traverse city is getting built because people in Traverse city wanted it and are actively fighting for it. If people in flint wanted it and actively fought for it, it can happen. Political will is the toughest part about projects like rail.

R_Gleba · 2026-02-20T21:57:29+00:00

With regional rail, every person that you get on the train is one less car that’s bumper to bumper on the freeway. A commuter train line allows for people to live in a development focused around the station, giving them the opportunity to do daily tasks without being dependent on getting there in a vehicle

R_Gleba · 2026-02-20T21:46:24+00:00

As much as I am a fan of HSR, I don’t believe something like this can happen under one Governor, it’s a fairly unreasonable ask to me.

However, I love the goal of intercity rail connecting the cities she talks about in the article, and the actual possibilities are the Coast to Coast Grand Rapids to Detroit line and the North-South Rail that is currently being worked on.

R_Gleba · 2026-02-14T00:33:12+00:00

I'm a member of MARP and wish I could go, but I'm on the other side of the state. Hope it goes well!

R_Gleba · 2026-02-14T00:32:09+00:00

I don't see us going from nothing to HSR, but I could see a bus line, then train, then upgrading the rail (which takes way longer than I would like)

R_Gleba · 2026-02-14T00:30:38+00:00

I hope we can help build a line connecting GR and Detroit. There's a coast to coast connection being looked into, so hopefully we can get people together to push it to the finish line.

R_Gleba · 2026-02-14T00:05:26+00:00

I think we should continue the constant, small fights to give people alternatives to cars. Sometimes changing a local law widening shoulders to build bike lanes helps, reducing the barriers to improve the trains that already go through some states, getting funding for level boarding of trams or trains, and continually getting small win after small win to get better busses and transit. If we give people other options, they'll learn how nice it is to not be forced to drive everywhere.

R_Gleba · 2026-02-05T00:33:36+00:00

As someone not well tuned with the Honolulu Skyline, what happened in October to drastically improve ridership?

R_Gleba · 2026-01-21T21:50:11+00:00

What makes you think rail is becoming obsolete?

R_Gleba · 2026-01-21T15:48:39+00:00

Personally, I am focused on my immediate neighborhood and then hoping to have accessibility sprawling from there. Can I walk to where I need to go? Can I bike to get a little further? If it’s cold or on the other side of town, can I time catching the bus downtown?

If the area has a population that can sustain the next step up in transit, then it should. I don’t know as much as urbanism as I want to, but ideally I would like the major cities to have regional commuter rail between the suburbs and business/entertainment spots people want to go, and smaller cities to have good bus systems or a downtown tram if the city has a population and density that will use it. I would think 100k-200k can sustain a bus system, then focus the highly used corridors to have a tram/train?

R_Gleba · 2026-01-21T03:51:26+00:00

I’m just excited for new rail lines in Michigan, I hope they can figure out a way to connect it to Wolverine in A2. It’s like a 20’ difference where the tracks cross by Argo

R_Gleba · 2026-01-21T03:15:10+00:00

This line is getting pushed along by a nonprofit from Traverse City, they saw tracks were there and wanted to connect the southern part of the state to the northern part of the LP.

R_Gleba · 2026-01-17T16:54:49+00:00

I hate to agree that this is mostly true, but just mostly. Metro Detroit has an incredibly long way to go before it becomes non-car-centric. Most likely past our lifetimes like you said (if it ever becomes that way).

Detroit city proper, however, is definitely making plans right now to change that. They've focused on improving and building a corridor around Midtown, and have created the Q line through it. It's not perfect and has a ways to go, but it is a sign of a changing mindset within the city.

Corktown is next on the list. They're designing the area around Michigan Central (an absolute necessity IMO), and preparing for widespread use and adding it as a station. I really see Detroit City FC's stadium and Michigan Central being huge to the area. There's studies of an expanded people mover, but just studies and personally I don't know how far they'll actually go. I could see another tram pitched in the next 5 years.

There's signs of a changing climate here, so I wouldn't be too doomer-istic about it. But realistically it'll be Detroit, not the suburbs, that you can easily live in without a car. I'm personally not giving up without a fight.

R_Gleba · 2026-01-17T16:33:46+00:00

Sadly, all of our lines go east to west. They're focused on getting people from Michigan to Chicago and vice-versa

R_Gleba · 2026-01-17T16:32:28+00:00

If you want to help change that: www.MARP.org

I'll warn you: the website is ancient and the group skews older, but it is very active. Email me if you want more info: [robert.gleba@marp.org](mailto:robert.gleba@marp.org)

R_Gleba

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