Living in Grand Rapids and working in Holland, I would
occasionally take Amtrak’s Pere Marquette to commute, and because of Amtrak
Guest Reward’s generous 100-point minimum earning per one-way trip and multiple
promotions, I have been racking up rewards points all spring. I decided this
trip was a worthy way to spend some of those points, so I explored my options.
At first, I thought I would drive down to Kalamazoo and catch the Wolverine to
Detroit, but this would leave my car in Kalamazoo, which was not an option. I
could take Indian Trails from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo, but the times did not
work favorably, so I realized I would have to truly make an adventure of this
by taking the Pere Marquette from Grand Rapids to Chicago, then the Wolverine
from Chicago to Detroit. The price for both segments was practically the same,
so I purchased (with a Student Advantage discount of fifteen percent) the Pere
Marquette segment for $25.50 and redeemed 1,500 points for a free Wolverine
segment. I would arrive in Detroit at 6:46pm, a mere nineteen minutes before
the game started, which (if the train was on time) could not be more perfect.
Arising that morning at 6:15am, I prepared for the day and
stepped outside to catch the Rapid’s Route 5 downtown. The sun was just rising
as I stepped on the nearly-full bus and took a seat. Fifteen minutes later
found me at Rapid Central Station, bustling with the rush of morning commuters.
I walked the half mile down Wealthy Street to the Amtrak station, looking
forward to the day Amtrak and the Rapid will be collocated once construction of
the new Amtrak station is completed. About fifty people were waiting for the
train inside the tiny station and out on the platform, and no conductor checked
our tickets in advance, as was usual. I stepped outside to wait for the train,
and it arrived shortly thereafter. I boarded, found a spacious seat in the
second of three Superliner cars, and settled in for the (supposed) four-hour
journey to Chicago.
This was the first time I had taken the Pere Marquette all
the way to Chicago, and I had heard that this particular train was one of the
most scenic short-distance trains in the country. I would not quite agree with
that sentiment, although the views along the Lake Michigan shoreline are quite
picturesque. However, I was greeted with much enjoyable scenery as I grabbed
some coffee from the café and began reading Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. As we neared Chicago,
we encountered significant delays that resulted in a late arrival into Union
Station by 45 minutes. The car attendants, to their credit, did apologize time
and again for our tardiness, but it was little issue for my itinerary, as my
next train was not due to depart for an hour after our late arrival.
I had just enough time to find a nearby café and grab a bite
to eat between trains, so I stepped out of Union Station into the bright
sunshine along the river, found a nearby eatery, and ordered a sandwich. Having
not eaten much breakfast, I was ready for some sustenance, and my lunch was
consumed in short order. The city was bustling as I strolled along the river a
ways before reentering the hulk of Union Station. I could not help but sigh at
the design of the place as I descended into its depths. European rail stations,
which I thoroughly enjoy, are large, open, and airy marvels of architecture;
American stations, even the most prolific among them, are dark, claustrophobic,
subterranean hovels. Navigating the dimly lit maze of passageways, I was
reminded of a joke I overheard while departing New York’s Penn Station several
months ago:
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…and
lead us not into Penn Station, but deliver us from evil…”
Finding my gate, I joined the sizable queue waiting to
board. This train had an abundance of cars, so I was not concerned about having
to share a seat. Not that I would have minded such company; however, the
Amfleet I cars of which the train consisted are not the most spacious or
accommodating, and I appreciated having a free seat beside me. I was glad to
remember as well that Amtrak recently released their updated fleet renewal
plan, which includes the near-term replacement of such old and well-used
equipment.
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| 110mph! |
The scenery passed by more slowly beyond Kalamazoo, and I
nursed my woes with a very out-of-character can of Pepsi from the café car. Treasure Island proved to be a quick
read, and I finished it just as we arrived in Battle Creek. The landscape
became decidedly more wilderness-like the farther east we journeyed, and I took
in a significant amount of wildlife: turkeys, cranes, turkeys, herons, turkeys,
deer, and turkeys. Not a few strutting toms were to be seen, evidently
nonplussed by the roaring train passing by.
Eventually, we pulled into Ann Arbor, where a number of
commuters boarded for points beyond Detroit. I had read that a significant
number of people used the Wolverine to commute, and now I was witness to that
fact. Our progress slowed considerably between Ann Arbor and Detroit, and we
stopped several times for lengthy periods, once even having to back up out of a
side track after allowing the westbound Wolverine to pass. The sun was low in
the sky as we pulled out of Dearborn, and with the end so close at hand and
already running quite late, we pulled yet again to a stop, much to my chagrin.
I could only stare out the window and wait; even once we got moving again, I
felt I could bike faster than the train was moving. At this leisurely pace we
trundled into Detroit, where I got off a full hour and twenty minutes late. I
helped a woman get her enormous bag down the steps, walked out on to the
street, and found the DDOT bus stop on Woodward. And waited.
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| A view of Wolverine from my bus stop |
The bus came, ten minutes behind schedule, and the reason
for its tardiness was apparent upon boarding. I stood most of the way down
Woodward as a free seat was scarce to be found. When planning this trip, this
segment made me most nervous, not because I was unfamiliar with city buses, but
because I had heard less-than-flattering stories about the DDOT buses in
particular. However, despite being very crowded (which can be seen as a very
good thing, depending on how one measures the merit of a given passenger load),
I was very comfortable with my admittedly short experience aboard. Comerica
Park came into view, and I got off with Tigers baseball on the mind, finally
having arrived at my destination.
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| I arrived at the bottom of the fifth. Better late than never. |
In thinking about this adventure (odyssey might be a better word to describe it), I have come to
realize a few things. First, I did not go through all this time and expense
because it made sense. Between the cost (which would have been $62 if not for
the redemption of rewards points and a student discount on the balance), time
(a full 14 hours total, 11.5 hours on the train – I could have biked to Detroit
faster), and nonsensical routing (462 miles instead of 150 miles), this trip
did not make sense, especially given that the alternative was being the seventh
passenger in a vanpool. Instead, I embarked on this adventure because I could.
I had the time, resources, desire, and purpose to go, and I got to taste
several new experiences along the way (full length of the Pere Marquette,
110mph speeds, essentially the full length of the Wolverine, connecting through
Union Station, and a Tigers game to boot).
Second, I was able to demonstrate that travel without a car,
even for shorter distances, is possible. True, no one in their right mind would
take the journey I did, but it still works in a pinch, and it could pave the
way toward a more comprehensive rail network that would make such trips more
feasible. I do not understand why Amtrak does not connect Michigan’s two
largest cities directly, but hopefully sometime in the future, this will become
a reality. The Chicago-centric model Amtrak has decided to take in the Midwest leaves many desirable city pairs unserved or practically unserved; perhaps this is an opportunity for an alternative rail model to take shape under the direction of a different, complementary transportation authority (are you listening, Detroit?).
Apart from the rail issue, what I was very pleased with (and what
actually does work very well) is the connection between rail and public
transit. On both ends (and in Chicago, for that matter), getting to and from
the train station is simple and nearly effortless. Even in Detroit, with its
chronic transit woes, the DDOT Route 53 straight down Woodward was just what I
needed to get from the station to Comerica Park. A transit system that works
and allows for intermodal transportation is a valuable asset, one any city
should be reticent to neglect. Even Detroit is making strides toward a more comprehensive transit network in the development of a regional transit authority, encouraged by the work of such organizations as Trans4M. Transit matters, pure and simple.
Third, despite the delays, Amtrak truly is a low-stress form
of transportation. Get a ticket and get right on board, no security necessary.
Find a large, spacious seat, and feel free to stroll around. Grab some coffee
from the café car, take in the scenery, always have the right-of-way (at least
with respect to cars), and do whatever task suits your fancy. Depart and arrive
right downtown, and forget dealing with traffic, gas prices, and road
conditions. I will always consider the train for my travel needs, and even
though I will not always be able to choose it, I will make an effort to use it
whenever possible. Just because it does not work all the time does not mean it never works; we should be using what we have to show the need for increased and improved service. Amtrak, federal and state governments, and the railroad industry are all moving in the right direction, and the more we are able to cheer them on through our use and advocacy of our existing rail network, the better the service we can expect in the years to come.
For those of you interested in the stats on this trip, here
they are:
Total travel time: 14:00
Total train time: 11:30
Pere
Marquette: 04:45
Wolverine: 06:45
Total bus time: 00:30
Total wait time: 02:00
Total cost: $27.50
Total train cost: $25.50
Total bus cost: $2.00
Total distance travelled: 462.7 miles
Total train distance: 457 miles
Total bus distance: 5.3 miles
Total walking distance: 0.4 miles
Total carbon footprint: 200 pounds CO2
Amtrak Guest Rewards points redeemed: 1,500
Amtrak Guest Rewards points earned: 100
Number of passersby who waved at the train: at
least 15
Number of tom turkeys sighted in full plumage: at
least 5
Number of times I thought, “I’d rather be driving”: 0
