DEARBORN —“History Meets the Future” seemed to be the theme on Tuesday at the Greenfield Village where the City of Dearborn held a kick-off event to celebrate breaking ground on an upcoming train station which is expected to be completed by the fall of 2013. 

Among those in attendance at the event held outside the historic Smiths Creek Depot at the Village were Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly, U.S. Senator Carl Levin and U.S. Rep John Dingell, who all cleverly rolled into the event on a train.  

Mayor Jack O’Reilly took the podium to discuss what the city describes as a monumental occasion. 

Mayor O’Reilly speaks during the ground-breaking event, held at Greenfield Village on Tuesday.   PHOTO: Samer Hijazi/TAAN

“This project is part of a larger strategy to increase the number of potential customers coming to Dearborn every day. Increasing the customer base sustains existing businesses and attracts new activity and investment,” Mayor O’Reilly told the crowd which, included officials and numerous media outlets.  

The $28.2 million project will be funded by federal money from the $10.1 billion President Obama allocated to railroad projects in 2010. The train station will be operated by Amtrak and is expected to be a major contribution to the city’s economical growth, with a commute from Dearborn to Chicago being the highlight of the project. 

The 16,000 square foot station will be located off of Michigan Ave. west of Southfield Freeway and will also include a pedestrian bridge that will link it to the Greenfield Village, allowing easy access for tourists.

U.S Rep John Dingell also spoke at the event. He stated that he and U.S. Senator Carl Levin had been working on this project for years. 

“We are looking at something that is not only the past of this country, but more importantly is the future. High speed transition between here and other places around the world is going to be critical for the continued growth of economical development,” Dingell stated. “This is going to be a tremendous strive forward to and for all of our people. So when we celebrate this let’s pat ourselves on the back and look at each other in the eye and say ‘by golly we got a little more to do.’”

Also in attendance at the ceremony was the head of the Federal Railroad Administration Joseph Szabo, who gave some interesting facts about the positive impacts building railroads could have on surrounding cities. According to the U.S Department of Commerce, every dollar spent on rail infrastructure generates three times that in job creation and economic output. Szabo also stated that Michigan is just one of 32 states that are moving forward with inner city passenger rail projects. 

Szabo stated that they are currently working on increasing the speed of the train systems. By 2015 they are expecting the trains to reach a speed of 110 mph, which will be quicker than driving and be a competitive alternative to flying. 

“With congestion already costing our nation nearly $130 billion a year, rail will help us reduce our reliance on foreign oil, protect our environment, mitigate congestion and connect regions like the region here in the Midwest, in a way that they haven’t been connected before.”

The city also announced that after the Chicago transit project is completed, they are planning on going broader. The city hopes that in the future the train station can be linked to Toronto, Montreal and St. Louis as well. 

The train station will also provide for SMART, DDOT, charter buses, corporate and hotel shuttles, taxis and personal vehicles. Its location will also provide easy access to the Henry Ford, Rouge Rive Gateway Trail, West Dearborn and the University of Michigan-Dearborn.