FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 5, 2012 (Revised)

ATK-12-028 Amtrak Contact: Media Relations 312 544.5390 MDOT Contact: Janet Foran 517 335.7176

IMPROVEMENTS IN MICHIGAN SET TO BEGIN APRIL 16

Temporary train cancellations, schedule changes, and service substitutions needed to allow completion of track work
CHICAGO Following work set to begin April 16, Amtrak services for Wolverine and Blue Water passengers can expect normal travel times on Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) track in Michigan by early May. While NS crews work to eliminate the temporary "slow orders" the railroad imposed on March 15, certain trains will be cancelled, have different schedules, or have segments covered by dedicated motor coaches, to allow completion of track work on April 16, 17, 18 and 19 (see attached.) Amtrak service in mid-Michigan will continue to be delayed from 45 to 90 minutes on Pontiac-Detroit-Chicago Wolverine trains, with lesser delays to the Blue Water trains to and from Chicago and Port Huron. Train 350, the morning eastbound Wolverine from Chicago to Pontiac, will terminate at Kalamazoo. Passengers continuing east of Kalamazoo will be accommodated on a dedicated bus serving Battle Creek and Jackson, where passengers will reboard a train for the remainder of the trip to Dearborn and intermediate stations. Train 351, the morning westbound Wolverine from Pontiac, will terminate at Jackson. Passengers continuing west of Jackson will be provided with dedicated bus service to Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, where they will reboard a train for service to Chicago and intermediate stations. The Kalamazoo departure of the continuation of train 351 will be 90 minutes later, at 11:20 a.m., arriving in Chicago at 12:54 p.m. CT. The late morning Wolverine 353 from Pontiac to Chicago is cancelled. The early afternoon Wolverine 352 from Chicago to Pontiac is also cancelled. Wolverine trains 354 (Pontiac to Chicago) and Train 355 (Dearborn to Chicago) will continue to operate with delays until the track repairs are completed.

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Blue Water (Train 365) operating eastbound between Port Huron and Chicago, will depart Port Huron two hours earlier at 4 a.m. All intermediate stations between Port Huron and Chicago also will be served two hours earlier than the published schedule. Amtrak has posted temporary schedules for service on the Wolverine and the Blue Water (364 and 365.) The Blue Water uses NS-owned track between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Further significant temporary changes to accommodate track work after April 19 will be announced as details become available in Passenger Service Notices at stations, shown as part of the booking process on Amtrak.com, and posted at Amtrak.com/Alerts.
About Amtrak: Celebrating 40 years of dedicated service as Americas Railroad Amtrak is the nations intercity passenger rail provider and its only high-speed rail operator. A record 30.2 million passengers traveled on Amtrak in FY 2011 on more than 300 daily trains at speeds up to 150 mph (241 kph) that connect 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian Provinces. Amtrak operates trains in partnership with 15 states and four commuter rail agencies. Enjoy the journeySM at Amtrak.com or call 800-USA-RAIL for schedules, fares and more information. Join us on facebook.com/Amtrak and follow us at twitter.com/Amtrak.

About MDOT: MDOT is responsible for a network of 10,000 miles of state trunkline roadways. This network, comprised of all I-, US-, and M-numbered routes in Michigan, carries 53 percent of all traffic and around 70 percent of all commercial traffic in the state. MDOT also is responsible for administrating a comprehensive multimodal program that includes airports, intercity passenger services, rail freight, local public transit services, nonmotorized transportation and the state's Transportation Economic Development Fund. A safe, well-maintained, and efficient transportation system provides the backbone for all economic activity within the state. Join us on facebook.com/MichiganDOT and follow us at www.twitter.com/michiganDOT. On the Web at www.michigan.gov/mdot.

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Wolverine Trains 350 and 351, 352 and 353 and Blue Water Train 365 On April 16, 17, 18 and 19
Due to speed restrictions imposed by Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), select Wolverine and Blue Water trains have been operating on adjusted schedules since late March. The Michigan Department of Transportation is working with NS to perform track repairs to allow Amtrak to restore normal schedules and service at all stations on the routes. The first phase of the work, described below, will take place on April 16, 17, 18 and 19. Additional track work will take place over the following two weeks. Details on upcoming service changes will be announced as soon as they become available. Note: Trains 350 and 355 were temporarily cancelled between Pontiac and Dearborn effective March 26 and select schedules were also changed. Contact Amtrak for the most up-to-date arrival and departure times, which are available on Amtrak.com, our free iPhone app and at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245). Blue Water Train 365 April 16, 17, 18 and 19 Blue Water Train 365 will operate two hours earlier at all stations on the route. See schedule below: Wolverine Trains 350, 351, 352 and 353 April 16, 17, 18 and 19 Eastbound Train 350 will operate between Chicago and Kalamazoo. Motorcoach service will be provided between Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and Jackson, where passengers may board the train to Ann Arbor and Dearborn. Westbound Train 351 will operate between Pontiac and Jackson. At Jackson motorcoach service will be provided to Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, where passengers may board the train to Chicago. The train will operate 90 minutes later from Kalamazoo, departing at 11:20 a.m., and arriving in Chicago at 12:54 p.m. Trains 352 and 353 will be cancelled on April 16, 17, 18 and 19. The highlighted sections of the schedule below indicate specific schedule changes on April 16, 17, 18 and 19. Trains
Chicago Hammond-Whiting Michigan City New Buffalo Niles Dowagiac Kalamazoo Battle Creek East Lansing Durand Flint Lapeer Port Huron Albion Jackson Ann Arbor Dearborn Detroit Royal Oak Birmingham Pontiac ET 12:20P 1:04P 1:35P 10:52P 11:32P 11:59P 12:30A 12:54A 1:01A 1:31A CT ET 9:47A 10:10A 10:21A 10:58A The bus departs Kalamazoo at 11:03A, Battle Creek at 11:30A and arrives at Jackson at 12:15P. 6:22P 6:47P 6:58P 7:29P 8:17P 9:29P 10:15P 10:40P 11:09P 12:11A 9:16P 10:02P CT

350
7:30A 7:55A

364
4:10P

354
6:00P 7:02P 8:14P 8:38P

Trains
Pontiac Birmingham Royal Oak Detroit Dearborn Ann Arbor Jackson Albion Port Huron Lapeer Flint Durand East Lansing Battle Creek Kalamazoo Dowagiac Niles New Buffalo Michigan City Hammond-Whiting Chicago CT ET CT ET

351
6:05A 6:18A 6:25A 6:48A 7:11A 7:48A 8:19A The bus departs Jackson at 8:24A, Battle Creek at 9:19A and arrives at Kalamazoo at 9:45A. 11:20A

365

355

5:35P 6:09P 7:27P 4:00A 4:45A 5:11A 5:47A 6:28A 7:54A 8:23A 8:50A 8:05A 9:26A 8:48P 9:21P 9:46P 9:59P 10:20P 9:30P 10:04P

12:54P

9:59A

10:53P

Thank you for traveling with Amtrak. We appreciate your patronage and apologize for any inconvenience you may experience.
PSN 0412-72 Remove April 20, 2012 Amtrak is a registered service mark of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.