Pere Marquette (Amtrak train)
The Pere Marquette is a passenger train operated by Amtrak as part of its Michigan Services on the route between Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois. It is funded in part by the Michigan Department of Transportation and is train 370 eastbound and train 371 westbound. The westbound train leaves Grand Rapids during the morning rush, with the eastbound train leaving Chicago after the afternoon rush, enabling same-day business travel between the two cities.
The train is named for a named train of the defunct Pere Marquette Railway, and in turn for Pere Marquette, Michigan, an early name for Ludington. The town was named for Father Jacques Marquette, a French explorer of the Great Lakes region.
History
Pre-Amtrak
The Pere Marquette was a named train of the Pere Marquette Railway, which ran between Detroit and Grand Rapids six times a day. When the Pere Marquette Railway was absorbed into the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in 1947, the name was maintained and extended to Chicago.The Amtrak years
Amtrak revived the name for its Grand Rapids–Chicago service on August 5, 1984, with financial support from the state of Michigan. Initially it served Chicago, Hammond–Whiting, New Buffalo, St. Joseph, Bangor, Holland and Grand Rapids. Service at Hammond–Whiting ended April 29, 2001. Service at New Buffalo ended October 26, 2009, when a new station opened on a different alignment.In March 2020, the Pere Marquette was suspended indefinitely as part of a round of service reduction in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The train returned on June 29 with the eastbound run to Grand Rapids, with full service in both directions resuming on June 30. In the interim, Grand Rapids' only connection to the national system was an Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach that connected with the Wolverine at Kalamazoo.
2007 crash
On November 30, 2007, the southbound Pere Marquette collided with a Norfolk Southern freight train in Chicago, injuring 71 people. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the collision was the failure of the Amtrak engineer to interpret the signal at Englewood interlocking correctly and Amtrak's failure to ensure that the engineer had the competence to interpret signals correctly across the different territories over which he operated. The NTSB released its findings on the crash on March 31, 2009.Route
The Pere Marquette operates over Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation trackage:- Norfolk Southern between Chicago and Porter, Indiana
- CSX between Porter, Indiana and Grand Rapids
Ridership
On-time performance
During 2008, the on-time performance of train 370 was 33.6%, of train 371 13.5%. By September 2010, these figures had changed to 63.3% and 13.3% respectively. Amtrak owns of this line, freight railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern the remainder. Track and signal delays and freight train interference make up the majority of delays.Station stops
In October 26, 2009, the New Buffalo Amtrak station was relocated from the CSX trackage to the Amtrak-owned alignment closer to the shore of Lake Michigan. This new station is ADA-accessible and has a more extensive shelter. As a result, the Pere Marquette no longer stops in New Buffalo, which is served by Wolverine and Blue Water trains. The Pere Marquette made a special round trip train to/from Harbor Shores Golf Course for the 2018 Senior PGA Championship. This special train made an additional stop at the Hammond/Whiting station and terminated at Benton Harbor-Golf Course station, a few blocks away from Harbor Shores.| State | Town/City | Station | Connections |
| Illinois | Chicago | Chicago Union Station | Amtrak: Blue Water, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, Carl Sandburg, California Zephyr, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Hiawatha Service, Hoosier State, Illini, Illinois Zephyr, Lake Shore Limited, Lincoln Service, Saluki, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle, Wolverine, Thruway Motorcoach CTA Buses: 1, 7, 14, 19, 20, X20, X28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192 Megabus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7 Metra: North Central Service, Milwaukee District/North Line, Milwaukee District/West Line, BNSF Railway Line, Heritage Corridor, SouthWest Service |
| Michigan | St. Joseph | Twin Cities Area Transportation Authority: Red Route | |
| Michigan | Bangor | ||
| Michigan | Holland | Padnos Transportation Center | MAX: all routes |
| Michigan | Grand Rapids | Thruway Motorcoach: Indian Trails The Rapid: Routes 1-18,Silver Line, |
Equipment
A normal Pere Marquette consists of:- One Siemens Charger locomotive
- Three Superliner coaches
- One Ex EMD F40PH