Michigan Air-Line Railway

Not to be confused with Michigan Air Line Railroad.
Michigan Air–Line Railway
Overview
HeadquartersWalled Lake, Michigan
Reporting markMAL
LocaleOakland County, Michigan
Dates of operation2006–2011
PredecessorCoe Rail, Inc./Grand Trunk Western
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length8.07 miles

The Michigan Air–Line Railway (reporting mark MAL) was a short-line railroad in Oakland County, Michigan. It ran from West Bloomfield, Michigan to Wixom, Michigan, where it connected to CSX. The headquarters and station were in Walled Lake, Michigan. The name was owned by Railmark Holdings, Inc.[1] The railroad ran its last Michigan Star Clipper Dinner Train on December 31, 2008.

On November 12, 2009, Railmark announced that it was selling the railroad to Browner Turnout.

With the Michigan Star Clipper Dinner Train no longer in service, the Eastern end of the railroad from Haggerty Rd. to Arrowhead Rd. (6.9 miles) was no longer needed and sold to West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation Commission. It was used to complete the West Bloomfield Trail.[2]

On January 28, 2011, the railroad applied with federal officials to abandon its remaining 5.45 mile route from the interchange in Wixom to the end of track now at Haggerty Rd.[3][4] Abandonment was approved on October 18, 2011.[5] The remaining railroad was removed in spring of 2012.

The 5.45 miles which were removed in 2012 became the Michigan Airline Railway Trail,[6] connected on the East to the West Bloomfield Trail and on the West to the Huron Valley Trail. All are key parts of the 240 miles long Michigan Air Line Trail which will follow the old Michigan Air Line Railroad across the state.

  1. ^ "Employer Status Determination, Coe Rail Inc". Archived from the original on 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  2. ^ "Press Release: West Bloomfield Parks and Rec Dedicates Newest Addition to Its West Bloomfield Trail". Archived from the original on 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2015-11-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ Trains magazine, May 2011, p. 11.
  4. ^ "Petition to DOT and STB to abandon MAL". Retrieved 2015-11-15.
  5. ^ "MAL abandonment decision" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-11-15.
  6. ^ "Michigan Airline Trail Master Plan 2015-2020". Archived from the original on 2015-09-09. Retrieved 2015-11-15.