(The following report appeared on the Kalamzoo Gazette on April 24.)
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — State and city officials will come together today at 1 p.m. at the Intermodal Transportation Center, 459 N. Burdick St., to celebrate the addition of a new Amtrak route called the Blue Water.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the Blue Water schedule will give residents in Kalamazoo and throughout Michigan the opportunity to catch an early train to Chicago and arrive in the Windy City by lunch time.
The train will travel between Port Huron and Chicago. The Blue Water replaces the former direct route between Chicago and Toronto, Magliari said. To go to Toronto from Kalamazoo now, riders need to catch a connecting train in Detroit.
Kalamazoo Mayor Robert Jones, Amtrak President and CEO David Gunn and Gloria Jeff, director of transportation for the Michigan Department of Transportation, will attend the event to inaugurate the new Blue Water schedule.
The event will feature a prize drawing for two pairs of Amtrak tickets, Magliari said.