Last year, I was invited to join an advisory group helping guide a statewide study on the feasibility of bringing passenger rail back to Michigan, running north to south through the state.

That proposed route includes Owosso and Durand, both right here in-district.

If this moves forward someday, it would mean passenger train service in Owosso for the first time in over 60 years, while building on the existing Amtrak station in Durand (Durand Union Station-Michigan Railroad History Museum), which already connects our area to the rest of the state.

Before anything else, the issue that matters most to people right now is cost. Cars are more expensive than ever, insurance is up, repairs cost more, and those pressures aren’t going away. I’m not immune to that. These days I'm driving a paid-off beater because not having a car payment matters. In rural communities like ours, driving is often the only option, and that lack of choice gets expensive fast.

I want to be very clear about where this project stands. This is not a done deal, and we are still leagues away from construction. Right now, the work is about asking hard questions and running the numbers to see whether this can actually be done the right way. I’m not interested in chasing flashy ideas that don’t pencil out. If it proves viable, I’ll say so. If it doesn’t, we move on and focus on other projects that bring real value to our communities.

One reason this study deserves a serious look is that there is already built-in ridership along the route. There are roughly 135,000 college students attending schools along this corridor. Students and younger workers are far less likely to own cars than past generations, often because they can’t afford to. That makes passenger rail easier to get going than people might expect, because the demand already exists. With Durand as a connection point, riders could transfer to existing routes that reach places like East Lansing, Kalamazoo, Flint, and Chicago.

Another important piece is that much of the rail corridor already exists, and the state owns most of the track. That lowers barriers, but it does not eliminate the need for careful planning, honest analysis, and community input. That’s exactly what’s happening now.

This is the kind of work I believe representatives should be doing before making promises: showing up early, listening, asking tough questions, and being honest about what’s possible.

If you want to learn more about the project or share your thoughts, I’m posting information below, including a public survey. Your input helps shape whether and how something like this could work for communities like ours.

Doing the homework first is how we make smart decisions for the long term.

Note: AI was used on an original image to represent the proposed concept.


Stephen Schlaack for State Representative bringing passenger rail back to Michigan