The Michigan Department of Transportation, the City of Detroit, and Michigan Central signed a memorandum of understanding committing $40 million to early research and engineering for a multimodal transportation hub within the 30-acre Michigan Central Innovation District.
Plans call for a new passenger rail and intercity bus station to serve as a gateway between the Detroit–Ann Arbor Innovation Corridor and Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Backers say the hub would strengthen the region’s mobility network and position Detroit for future service, including a proposed extension of Amtrak’s Chicago–Detroit Wolverine to Windsor and Toronto.
The project would replace aging facilities that have exceeded their useful life: MDOT’s Howard Street bus station, which serves Greyhound, Indian Trails and Baron’s Bus, and the Amtrak station in the New Center neighborhood.
Officials describe the hub as an extension of Michigan Central’s technology and cultural campus, which has grown to nearly 250 companies and startups since opening in 2023. Recent investments in southwest Detroit and Corktown include Michigan Central Station’s reopening, Ford Motor Co. and Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan moving into the complex, and Detroit City FC’s nearby stadium.
The effort remains in early stages, with final designs, funding plans, public engagement, and timelines still to be determined. MDOT and Michigan Central said the goal is a facility that connects people to jobs, education and services while enhancing regional access and economic development.
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