Passenger

Great Lakes Central Railroad (GLC)

Also known as Tuscola Saginaw Bay Railways was purchased in March 2006 by Federated Railways, a wholly owned subsidiary of FCC. GLC is the largest regional rail system in the great state of Michigan stretching from Ann Arbor to Traverse City and Petoskey

Helping Communities Reach Mobility

  • We help support community goals of building transportation efficiencies
  • Alleviate the traffic and parking congestion
  • Reduce air pollution
  • Provide safe and comfortable travel for thousands of commuters

We have…

  • the track
  • the experienced people
  • the locomotives
  • the railcars
  • the technology

GLC Rail System
Future Passenger and Commuter Rail Expansion


  • Passenger trains round trip between Ann Arbor and Traverse City. This won’t be your ordinary passenger train, it will be an event and an experience.
  • Daily commuter trains operating between Howell and Ann Arbor MI.

Efficiencies Using Rail Transportation

  • Mitigating automobile fuel and maintenance costs
  • Protecting the environment
  • Reducing highway congestion
  • Minimize the daily personal stress of traffic grid lock
  • Allocate more land space resulting from less parking requirements
  • According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) 1999 Transit Fact Book, the following advantages accrue to using public transportation in general and rail transit specifically:
    • Public transportation use in America avoids the emission of:
    • Over 126 million pounds of hydrocarbons, a primary cause of smog
    • 156 million pounds of nitrogen oxides. Emission reductions reduce respiratory disease, acid rain and associated health costs and economic loss (FTA, 1996)
    • Public transportation reduces auto fuel consumption by approximately 1.5 billion gallons annually, lowering the nation’s trade deficit and reducing dependence on foreign oil (FTA, 1996)
    • The fuel efficiency of a fully occupied rail car is 15 times greater than the average commuter single-occupant auto
    • A 10% increase in public transportation rider ship in the five largest U.S. cities would save 85 million gallons of gasoline per year
  • Congestion costs American drivers 3.6 billion hours of travel delay and 5.7 billion gallons of wasted fuel every year1
  • Michigan consumed over 6 billion gallons of fuel for highway and non-highway use in 20042

1 MSNBC, “Congress Approves $286 Billion Highway Bill”, July 29, 2005.
2 Department of Transportation, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohim/hs04/htm/mf21.htm