• Rosemary Parker | rparker3@mlive.com

Kalamazoo Gazette file photo

LANSING — The details about who will pay for what are beginning to emerge on Michigan Department of Transportation'sannouncement last week that it will purchase a critical 135-mile segment of railroad track between Kalamazoo and Dearborn.

The track is part of Amtrak's Wolverine passenger rail service and also provides freight services to major Michigan companies, including Ford Motor Co., according to a news release from MDOT.

The $140 million purchase will enable MDOT to upgrade the track for both passenger and rail freight services. Norfolk Southern Railway, the track's current owner, will retain an exclusive freight easement to preserve and expand its freight business, an arrangement that was figured into the purchase price, said Jeff Cranson, director of communications for MDOT.

This 135 miles is in addition to 530 miles of track MDOT already owns, Cranson said.

Cranson said $196.5 million for the upgrade comes from federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds; $150 million of federal funding for the acquisition requires a 20 match from the state, which will come from the Comprehensive Transportation Funds used for transit, intercity bus and rail and freight rail.

Portions of the match will also come from in-kind contributions by staff and consultant costs, Cranson said.

“Since there will be several years of construction associated with the acquisition, the full amount of the in-kind contribution is not fully known," Cranson said. "MDOT will be tracking these costs to make sure the match requirements are fulfilled, but we don’t over-subscribe.”

State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle said MDOT plans to work with Norfolk Southern and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to increase freight business along this corridor, while supporting intercity passenger rail travel, "which has shown remarkable growth in Michigan in the past several years," the announcement said.

Norfolk Southern will be paying MDOT a per car mile trackage fee for using the line for freight service, at a rate that will vary dependent on the railroad's volume, Cranson said.

“It is MDOT’s and NSR’s goals to grow the freight business on this line. If the freight traffic increases, MDOT receives a larger payment from NSR, but most importantly that means the shippers along this line are doing better and that is good for Michigan's economy,” Cranson said.

MDOT has been working in cooperation with the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to develop 110 mph passenger service over this route.

In addition to the purchase and upgrades, MDOT agreed to build a double track on the busiest freight segment of the line east of Ypsilanti to ensure adequate capacity for both freight and passenger operations. The new track will benefit the production operations of Ford Motor Co., among others.

The double tracking to allow the high speed passenger service is being funded out of the acquisition grant from the federal High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program, Cranson said.

The Norfolk Southern Railway's trackage right fee will go toward a portion of the maintenance and the rest will come from the Amtrak and MDOT for the high-speed passenger operations.

Because NSR doesn’t need to operate over 25 mph on this line, and Amtrak and MDOT need to go faster, the cost for maintenance at the 110 mph standard will be picked up by the grant funds, he said.