On May 22, 2025, SEMCOG hosted its third Freight Task Force meeting with a focus on rail. The meeting brought together representatives from four railroads (Norfolk Southern, Conrail, Lake State Railway, and CSX), the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Office of Rail, the Michigan Railroads Association (MRA), the City of Detroit, local communities, and community partners.
Following the meeting, task force members participated in a tour of key rail facilities in Southwest Detroit, organized by Norfolk Southern. The tour highlighted several sites of national and international significance. These locations emphasize the vital role of rail in supporting the region’s economy and ensuring the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of goods.
Southeast Michigan’s geographical position, existing transportation network, and economic base make it a crucial gateway to Canada, the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway, Chicago, the Midwest, Mexico, and beyond. Efficient freight movement within this system is essential for the region’s economic growth and vitality. The region is well served by every mode to ensure efficient goods movement. Each mode-trucking, rail, marine, and air-plays a vital role in moving goods domestically and internationally.
Rail freight accounts for roughly 15% of total goods moved by weight and about 25% by value in our region. Rail freight plays an important role in the freight industry in our region, moving high-value commodities such as finished vehicles, along with other materials like aluminum, plastics, organic chemicals, iron, steel, fuels, and more.
To better understand the unique challenges and opportunities of each mode, SEMCOG’s task force meetings focus on each mode individually. Meeting summary and presentation slides can be found on SEMCOG’s Freight Hub Website.
Rail Focus Task Force Meeting Feedback Highlights
- There are no federal formula funds for rail. This is why federal discretionary grant programs and MDOT grant opportunities are important for the rail industry to make improvements, grow capacity, and increase safety.
- Prioritize at-grade crossings as blockages increase congestion, hinder emergency vehicle response times, and pose safety risks.
- Prioritize infrastructure enhancements including the DIFT (Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal).
- Utilize freight rail lines for passenger travel and the continued need for public-private coordination
Southwest Detroit Rail Facility Tour
The rail facility tour, organized by Norfolk Southern in collaboration with Conrail highlighted the strategic importance of several rail facilites in Southwest Detroit that support both national and international freight movement. Southwest Detroit has long been a center of trade and industry due to its proximity to the Canadian border, international crossings, and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Here, major highways, rail lines, and a cross-border rail tunnel converge and link the Midwest, Canada, and global markets. Locations on the tour:
Livernois Intermodal Terminal / DIFT (Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal)
The first stop on the tour was the Livernois Intermodal Terminal, a legacy rail infrastrucure facility supporting operation of three railroads (Norfolk Southern, CSX, and Conrail). Participants discussed important upgrades that are underway in the yard. These enhancements show the critical public and private partnerships that have been happening in our region. Improvements in yard efficiency and community safety have been needed for decades, and recent public-private partnerships have led to positive gains. MDOT, in collaboration with the City of Detroit and Norfolk Southern, secured over $67 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to upgrade the Livernois Intermodal Facility to cut emissions, improve efficiency, support supply chains, and lessen environmental impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
Delray Interlocking Terminal
The Delray Interlocking terminal dates back to 1890 and currently converges rail lines of Conrail, Norfolk Southern, and CSX. Improvements were implemented in 2020 at Delray interlocking to eliminate a congestion point for freight trains. This was done in partnership with MDOT, Norfolk Southern, CSX, and Conrail.
Melvindale Auto Ramp / Triple Crown Yard
The Melvindale Auto Ramp is an automotive distribution facility owned and operated by Norfolk Southern. The facility specializes in auto shipments in North America working with auto assembly plants to distribute and receive automotive vehicles which is critical to our region’s economy. Triple Crown is a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern. The Triple Crown Yard is located close to the Melvindale Auto Ramp and includes door-to-door integrated trucking and brokerage services in which enhancements are underway.
SEMCOG Freight Plan
In September 2023, SEMCOG hosted a Freight Stakeholder Workshop bringing together a diverse group of freight stakeholders. This workshop was part of a series of engagement efforts for Vision 2050, the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for Southeast Michigan. An action outcome from Vision 2050 was to develop a freight plan for the region. Fast-forward a year later to fall of 2024, SEMCOG convened a Freight Task Force to guide the development of a Regional Freight Plan for Southeast Michigan as it is increasingly important that freight considerations are proactively integrated into policy and infrastructure to ensure safe, reliable, and sustainable goods movement across Southeast Michigan. A Regional Freight Plan for Southeast Michigan is currently underway. Find out more by visiting SEMCOG’s Freight Hub Website.
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