Amtrak Will Pause Service Between Michigan and Chicago

Charter buses will provide alternate transportation options in some cases, but seating is limited.

According to reports from The Detroit News Amtrak will temporarily halt regularly scheduled train service between Michigan and Chicago for five days in September.

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According to the Detroit media outlet the removal of two obsolete coaling towers is the cause of the temporary service stoppage. At one time the coaling towers were required to restock the steam-powered locomotives' fuel supply, but today they are longer required as Amtrak uses common diesel locomotives.

The two coaling towers scheduled for removal are located near Michigan City, Indiana and Augusta, Michigan and both Amtrak's Wolverine and Blue Water service lines pass directly underneath the towers. Adds The Detroit News,

Trains haven't used coal for power for almost 70 years, [Amtrak senior public relations manager Marc] Magliari said, but the coaling towers remain standing above the Amtrak rails. The structures serve no purpose now that coal isn't used, he said, so they should be removed before they come down in another way.

According to the official alert from Amtrak those routes from Chicago and Pontiac (Wolverine line) and Chicago and Port Huron (Blue Water line) will be shut down for five days beginning September 15, 2025.

We expect regularly scheduled train service to resume Saturday, September 20 aside from but Amtrak says to to expect track improvement work to continue Mondays - Thursdays until October 30 noting,

Trains 350 and 353 continue to operate on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only.

Find more information on Amtrak service disruption here.