Michigan’s version of high-speed passenger rail has hit a speed bump.

Barely a month after Amtrak trains started running at 110 mph in parts of Michigan on the Chicago-to-Detroit route, the passenger service is now crawling as slow as 25 mph on a nearby section of the corridor due to poorly maintained track, Amtrak officials said Thursday.

The slow zone imposed by Norfolk Southern Railway, which cited track safety reasons, is adding as much as 1 1/2 hours to the total scheduled trip time of 5 1/2 hours between Chicago and Detroit, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

The slow order was imposed Thursday by Norfolk Southern on stretches of track the railroad owns between Kalamazoo, Mich., and Ann Arbor, officials said. Amtrak trains formerly operated at up to 79 mph on the segment.

Norfolk Southern said it has no plans to restore the track conditions for faster trains, saying its freight train traffic is operating smoothly at 25 mph.

Amtrak trains will continue to run at up to 110 mph on most of the segment that Amtrak owns between Kalamazoo and Porter, Ind., officials said.

But that increase in speed over the previous 95 mph maximum cut only 10 minutes off the running schedule.



The 110 mph service on Amtrak’s Wolverine and Blue Water routes began in early February.

The delay for Amtrak passengers due to the slow zone will range from 45 to 90 minutes, Magliari said. Amtrak operates eight daily trains in Michigan that are affected by the slow zone.

Norfolk Southern, which is negotiating with the state of Michigan to sell Michigan the section between Dearborn and Kalamazoo, said it has no plans to upgrade the tracks.

The railroad did make repairs last summer on different stretches of track that are used by Amtrak.

“Our freight trains are operating just fine at 25 mph,’’ said Norfolk Southern spokesman David Pidgeon. “If Amtrak would like their trains to move at a faster pace, we would have to have discussions with Amtrak. But we have no plans to lift the speed restrictions, which will be there for the foreseeable future.’’

Amtrak officials said the duration of the service delays is unknown, but that they were told by Norfolk Southern it would begin track repairs in three weeks.

Michigan officials warned that a prolonged slow zone will hurt passenger service and freight shippers.

“Last year (the Michigan Department of Transportation) invested millions of dollars to upgrade this line at the state’s expense and we hope Norfolk Southern will bear that in mind and work to minimize slowdowns that inconvenience businesses and travelers,’’ said Tim Hoeffner, director of the office of rail at Michigan DOT.

Pidgeon declined to comment on the status of talks to sell the 135-mile section to the Michigan Department of Transportation, or whether the railroad’s decision to forego repairs was part of its negotiating strategy.

jhilkevitch@tribune.com

Twitter @jhilkevitch