Postcard picture, early 1900s
|
|
Overview | |
---|---|
Location | Detroit River |
Coordinates | 42°19′07″N 83°03′38″W / 42.31849°N 83.06049°WCoordinates: 42°19′07″N 83°03′38″W / 42.31849°N 83.06049°W |
System | Canadian Pacific Railway |
Start | Detroit, Michigan, US |
End | Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
Operation | |
Work begun | October 1906 |
Opened | July 26, 1910 |
Owner | Canadian Pacific Railway and Borealis Transportation |
Operator | Detroit River Tunnel Company |
Traffic | Freight |
Technical | |
Length | 1.6 mi (2.6 km) |
No. of tracks | 2 |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Michigan Central Railway Tunnel is a railroad tunnel under the Detroit River connecting Detroit, Michigan, in the United States with Windsor, Ontario, in Canada. The US entrance is south of Porter and Vermont streets near Rosa Parks Boulevard. The Canadian entrance is south of Wyandotte Street West between Cameron and Wellington Avenues. It was built by the Detroit River Tunnel Company for the Canada Southern Railway, leased by the Michigan Central Railroad and owned by the New York Central Railroad. The tunnel opened in 1910 and is still in use today by the Canadian Pacific Railway. On the Detroit side, the area around the tunnel is off limits to the general public and is routinely patrolled by officers and agents of the US Department of Homeland Security, Canadian Pacific Police Service, CN Police, Detroit Police Department, and the security elements of the bridge company.
Prior to the construction of the tunnel, the Canada Southern Railway had several connections to Michigan at its west end, all train ferries. The northern one ran across the St. Clair River, connecting to the St. Clair and Western Railroad. The southern connection crossed the Detroit River south of Detroit, connecting to the Canada Southern Bridge Company at Grosse Ile. Additionally a branch (usually considered the main line) split from the line to Grosse Ile at Essex, running to the Detroit River at Windsor.