| Michigan Executive | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service type | Commuter rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Closed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Southeast Michigan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First service | January 20, 1975 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last service | January 13, 1984 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current operator(s) | Amtrak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former operator(s) | Penn Central | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average ridership | 26,000 (1983) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start | Jackson, MI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| End | Detroit, MI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance travelled | 74 miles (119 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Michigan Executive was a commuter train operated by Amtrak between Detroit, Michigan, and Jackson, Michigan.
As Amtrak's mandate did not cover commuter operations Penn Central continued to operate a weekday commuter service between Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan after Amtrak had assumed control of its intercity operations. By the mid-1970s Penn Central asked to discontinue the service, citing dwindling ridership and the aging Rail Diesel Cars it used. Amtrak and the state of Michigan agreed to step in, and the Michigan Executive made its first run on January 20, 1975, running between Detroit and Jackson (to the west of Ann Arbor).[1]
In the summer of 1975 the westbound Friday Michigan Executive operated all the way to Chicago, returning the following Sunday.[2] Declining ridership led Amtrak to discontinue the westbound Michigan Executive and truncate the eastbound train to Ann Arbor. Returning commuters took the Chicago-Detroit Twilight Limited. Amtrak discontinued the Michigan Executive on January 13, 1984, after Michigan withdrew its support.[3] State transportation officials estimated that the discontinuance would save $200,000/year, and daily ridership had dwindled below 60.[4]