RESURRECTING THE CHICAGO MERCURY.

The old New York Central line from Niles, Michigan to Detroit is of little use for moving automobile parts and automobiles any more, and current freight operator Norfolk Southern isn't interested in putting the money into the line to move the passenger trains.

The State of Michigan, financial troubles notwithstanding, is appropriating money to purchase the tracks between Kalamazoo and Detroit, with a future upgrade of the line to permit 110 mph trains.

I filed a report on this line three summers ago, and additional information on the Mercury trains (does anybody else remember where automobile names like Mercury and Lincoln Zephyr and Buick Century and Special came from?) provide some context for Michigan rail administrator Tim Hoeffner's reluctance to call the upgrade high-speed rail.

"People hear 'high-speed rail' and they think of 200-mph trains, and that's really not what we're talking about," he said. "We're talking about accelerated rail, faster trains up to 110 mph, better and new trains, on-time performance, reliable service, and ultimately additional frequency."

If this service is to continue through Detroit to Birmingham and Pontiac, faster running on the old Grand Trunk Western is a must.  It's probably too much to ask for successors to those Henry Dreyfuss observation-lounges for the business class traveller.