Michigan Central Multimodal Facility could become one of Detroit’s most significant transit projects in years. The early-stage plan would place a new Amtrak station in southwest Detroit near the Ambassador Bridge, with possible future passenger rail links into Canada.

Michigan Central Multimodal Facility takes shape
Photo: canada.constructconnect.com

The concept is being shaped by Ford Motor’s Michigan Central R&D center, the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan. It is still preliminary, but the project already has public funding, a named development lead and a clear intermodal transportation focus.

Michigan Central Multimodal Facility and Detroit’s station plans

The proposed hub would give the Michigan Central campus a new transport role. The 30-acre district is built around the 18-storey former train station, a building that stood empty for decades before Ford restored it in 2024.

The wider campus already includes several supporting buildings. The transit hub itself would cover about two acres, though its function would reach beyond that footprint by bringing passenger rail, buses, parking and other mobility services into one location.

Michigan has already committed $40 million to the project. State spokesman Michael Frezell said the state will oversee efforts to “secure environmental clearances and unlock additional federal funding by fall 2027.”

Detroit’s transportation department will lead development of the project, officially called the Michigan Central Multimodal Facility, or MCMF. In the official announcement, Michigan Central said MDOT, Detroit and Michigan Central had signed an MOU to begin preliminary assessments for a hub within the 30-acre Michigan Central Innovation District. The city department’s role covers design, engineering, site circulation and public consultation, while the same department also operates Detroit’s bus system and the downtown People Mover light rail network.

Why southwest Detroit is central to the proposal?

The terminal would likely include conventional train and bus connections, but planners are also looking at a wider mix of mobility options. A city release said the work will explore “all modalities” and seek to “create a transformational gateway to Detroit, the region and the State of Michigan.”

Michigan Central is expected to remain the anchor of the plan. Beth Kmetz-Armitage, Michigan Central’s director of commercial development, said the campus was selected several years ago because of its strategic location in a district that has been deindustrialized and depopulated, but is now showing signs of revival.

The site sits beside an active freight rail line. “Our site offered the same rail adjacency and freeway access, but a little more area to handle the bus circulation and other needs for the center,” Kmetz-Armitage said.

Michigan officials have long been looking for a replacement for the existing Amtrak station in central Detroit, where space and parking are limited. That makes Detroit Amtrak station relocation one part of the due diligence now under way among the partners.

Detroit-Chicago line and possible Canada service

After signing a memorandum of understanding with Detroit and the state, the parties entered an 18-month due diligence period. The work includes civil engineering and a review of whether there is market support for relocating the station on the Detroit-Chicago line.

The studies will also look at possible future connections to Toronto through the existing rail tunnel under the Detroit River. That tunnel currently carries freight only, so any future Detroit Toronto rail connection would depend on later planning and project decisions.

“We’re doing all of the formal studies on paper that will enable us to enter into an actual design construction phase,” Kmetz-Armitage said.

She said the hub could eventually include passenger rail, city and intercity buses, a car parking deck and mobility options such as bike share and e-scooters. She also mentioned “aerial mobility for either items or people depending on how that particular sector develops.”

Kmetz-Armitage said there is “an emerging market” for drones capable of carrying people. The Michigan Central site will also host a NoMad Hilton hotel and retail tenants, adding to plans for a denser commercial neighborhood around the transit hub.

Infrastructure challenges around the Michigan Central transit hub

Newlab, a Michigan Central R&D partner, says Newlab Detroit is built for commercializing mobility technologies in real-world environments and offers access to unique aerial pilot space. That innovation focus fits the broader ambition for the Michigan Central transit hub, while the physical site still presents a major challenge.

Much of the adjacent land is currently landlocked, especially toward Michigan Avenue, a busy corridor leading to the interstate freeway network. “Right now, those streets don’t exist,” Kmetz-Armitage said. “So, there’s a major infrastructure delivery component to this project.”

That infrastructure work could open the way for future development on land that has mostly been used to store construction and public works equipment. The site’s position near the Ambassador Bridge also places it close to AlumniFi Field, the new Detroit City Football Club stadium with surrounding retail and housing, targeted for opening next year.

“We know that our neighborhood to the west of the station is going to become a major entertainment and travel and leisure destination with our hotel,” Kmetz-Armitage said. “We can see a future that involves events, travel and leisure, sports and entertainment, commercial development, supporting our innovation ecosystem.”

For Kmetz-Armitage, the surrounding “landlocked, underutilized parcels” are beginning to take shape as major developments move forward. As Railway Supply previously covered, the proposed hub is tied to a wider effort to reshape travel links around Michigan Central and Detroit’s broader mobility network.

Transit advocates are also watching the proposal with optimism. “Metro Detroit transit riders and supporters are very excited about the potential to have both an updated multimodal station and eventually having a rail connection to Windsor and even Toronto,” said Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United.

Owens said the project’s success will also depend on service levels. “I just hope the City of Detroit, the SMART suburban bus system and Amtrak can all increase frequencies of their service through there to truly make it convenient and attractive.”