“If we decide to really push this ... it’s not to start out trying to solicit politicians and governments or whatever for money. It’s to see if I can get folks to embrace it, that future vision,” Moroun told Crain’s. “We need to put the depot back on the map.”

Moroun envisions the depot having a straight-shot rail line to Detroit Metropolitan Airport and being a stop for Amtrak’s high-speed train routes to Chicago and a connection to Ontario’s VIA through the adjacent rail tunnel that dips below the Detroit River.

One of the biggest obstacles to redeveloping the train station is its location along Michigan Avenue on the outskirts of Corktown, nearly two miles west of Campus Martius in the central business district.

To overcome that barrier, Moroun said a second QLine streetcar line could be built along Michigan Avenue to connect downtown with the depot (like there used to be in the first half of the 20th century, as evidenced by old rails exposed along Michigan).

“All of that is big bucks. I get that,” Moroun said. “But all of those moves are moves that happen over a long period of time because of a mass transit plan.”

In pitching the idea, Moroun is essentially seeking public feedback — a noticeable departure from the often reclusive nature of his family’s business dealings in Detroit.

Two influential players in Detroit’s transportation planning circles are receptive to the idea of the old train station going back online.

“I’m excited that Matthew and his family are putting the energy into it that they are and that they’re evaluating these different ideas and I think it should be on the table,” said Matt Cullen, CEO of M-1 Rail, the private nonprofit that runs the QLine.

Moroun has broached the idea of Amtrak trains running through the old train depot with Kirk Steudle, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation. Steudle said he’s receptive to the idea and connecting the old train station to the central business district in the same way the QLine street car connects New Center with downtown.

“I’ve had a number of people come up to me and say ‘How do we do something on Michigan Avenue like they did on Woodward?’” Steudle said. “If Matthew (Moroun) can be the person who brings together that group, well ... let’s continue having a conversation.”

Moroun is putting forward the idea just as MDOT is starting to consider long-term planning for the Amtrak train station at the corner of Woodward and Baltimore in New Center. The train station, which is easy to miss for passers-by, is near the QLine’s Baltimore Street stop.

MDOT owns 3 acres on the south side of the railroad crossing over Woodward that is envisioned for a future intermodal station for QLine and Amtrak trains, bus rapid transit and possibly autonomous vehicles when they hit the road.

Cullen thinks the intermodal station in New Center “still happens,” whether or not the old train station is resurrected.

But having two intermodal stations is not out of the question, Cullen said.

“It seems to me that there’s opportunity for both to be used in a transit mode over time,” said Cullen, who also is principal in Dan Gilbert’s Rock Ventures LLC. “I think they can perform different functions.”