(The following story by David Jesse appeared on the Times Herald website on April 21.)
PORT HURON, Mich. — Henry Lakes didn’t know it, but his trip Wednesday from Toronto to Chicago aboard Amtrak’s International line put him in rare company.
He’ll be among the last to take that journey as Amtrak prepares to discontinue the line at the end of the week. The route will run between Chicago and Port Huron, eliminating the Canadian portion of the trip.
“I had a friend who rode it and said it was easier than driving or flying, so I thought I’d give it a try,” the 55-year-old Toronto resident said at Port Huron’s station. “So far, it’s been nice.”
Amtrak’s revised route will be called the Blue Water instead of the International, the moniker the Chicago-to-Toronto line had for almost 30 years. The change in route, name and departure times is aimed at increasing ridership, rail officials said.
The train company will move up the departure time from the Port Huron station to 5:15 a.m. to entice riders into taking the train for a day trip to Chicago.
On Saturday morning, Amtrak will have a public celebration to inaugurate the retooled line. A special, invitation-only train trip will kick off that morning.
Amtrak is making other changes locally: It’s returning a ticket agent to the Port Huron station and plans lighting improvements at the 16th Street station.
The move isn’t without its detractors.
A group called Save Our Trains Michigan had a rally in early April to try to save the International route.
Margaret Cordray, 85, of Algonac, takes the train west to visit relatives. She attended the earlier rally.
“If they take this train away, I’m stuck,” she said.
VIA Rail Canada trains still will run between Sarnia and Toronto, but people will have to find their own way to the Sarnia station.
The past
The Blue Water line first pulled into Port Huron on Sept. 13, 1974. It was named the Blue Water Limited and started its regular runs on Sept. 15, 1974.
More than 1,000 people turned out as the train pulled into what became the depot on 16th Street, near Beard Street, the same spot as the current location. The depot wasn’t built until 1976.
The Port Huron High School band greeted the train, which included 19 Port Huron residents and officials who had been bused to Lapeer and then rode the train back into Port Huron. A special poster was distributed to mark the occasion.
In its first month of operations, 5,538 passengers used the service.
While discussion of expanding the service to Toronto surfaced in newspaper accounts almost immediately after the line opened, the International wasn’t unveiled until 1982.
“This improved service will … improve coordination between Michigan and Ontario by providing a direct link between our capital cities,” then-Michigan Gov. William Milliken said when he announced the formation of the line on Oct. 11, 1982.
The first International line made its way through the St. Clair River Tunnel between Port Huron and Sarnia on Oct. 30, 1982.
About 75 people gathered at the Amtrak station in Port Huron for a ceremony as the train from Toronto and one coming from Chicago met.
The future
Slumping ridership is one reason for the change to the new Blue Water line, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. The line went from a high of 121,000 riders in 1997 to a low of about 81,000 riders in fiscal 2003.
Customs delays also made the train run late.
The Port Huron-to-Chicago line and an Amtrak line between Grand Rapids and Chicago are state subsidized. The rail company and state Legislature have bickered for years about the amount of the subsidy. The two lines will cost taxpayers $7.1 million in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
A third line, between Detroit and Chicago, receives no state money.
Amtrak officials believe the reduced route and new times for the Blue Water route will attract more riders as it focuses on day trips to Chicago.
A round-trip ticket to Chicago costs $46.
“People now can ride the train into Chicago and ride back that night, or only stay one night,” Magliari said. “The current schedule forces people to spend two nights in Chicago.”
The new train will leave Port Huron at 5:15 a.m. for Chicago and arrive back at 10:50 p.m. Now, a Chicago-bound train from Canada stops in Port Huron at 12:20 p.m. and another arrives at 4:50 p.m. from Chicago.
Amtrak has launched a campaign to market the retooled line.
The rail company also has returned the ticket agent to the Port Huron station. The agent will be on duty when the train arrives and departs. The agent will also clean the train during the overnight hours.
Because the trains will be at the station in the early morning and late evening, Amtrak will add more lighting, Magliari said.