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Pere Marquette is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak as part of its Michigan Services. The 176-mile (283 km) line connects Grand Rapids, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois. Pere Marquette is funded in part by the Michigan Department of Transportation.[1] It is served by train 370 eastbound and train 371 westbound.
The train is named for the defunct Pere Marquette Railway[2], and in turn for Pere Marquette, Michigan (an early name for Ludington)[3], which was named for Father Jacques Marquette, a French explorer of the Great Lakes region.[3]
[edit] Route details
The Pere Marquette operates over Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation trackage:
- NS Chicago Line, Chicago to Porter
- CSX Grand Rapids Subdivision and Grand Rapids Terminal Subdivision, Porter to Grand Rapids
[edit] 2007 crash
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is currently investigating the possibility of signal confusion being the cause of the November 30, 2007, accident involving Amtrak's Pere Marquette train which rearended a parked Norfolk Southern freight train on the south side of Chicago, seriously or critically injuring five Amtrak employees and slightly injuring 100 to 150 of the 187 passengers on board.[4]
[edit] Airport connections
At the Chicago end of the line, riders may easily connect to either O'Hare International Airport or Midway International Airport, using nearby CTA stations. For O'Hare, riders should walk to the Clinton CTA station and ride the Blue line, which operates 24 hours a day. For Midway, riders should walk to the Quincy/Wells CTA station and ride the Orange line.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
