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On Monday, Gov. Rick Snyder delivered the keynote address at the inaugural Michigan Rail Summit, an industry conference that examined several topics related to rail transportation in Michigan.

It was a timely speech for Snyder. Last week, he unrolled a major initiative to seek $1 billion for investments in Michigan’s transportation infrastructure. Rail’s portion of that is still to be determined, but Snyder called the rail industry a “lifeline” for Michigan business.

He wasn’t the only speaker at the Rail Summit. Others included John Porcari, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation and Kirk Steudle, the director of the Michigan Department of Transportation, among others.

Here’s five things of interest we learned at the Rail Summit:

Grand Scheme Of Things

Improvements along the Detroit-to-Chicago rail corridor were a central theme of the event. But Snyder and others emphasized that are should be viewed more broadly, as the epicenter of a line that stretches from St. Louis from Montreal. “It’s not about a piece of rail in Michigan,” Snyder said. There’s a reason for the emphasis.

Viewed alone, the 280-mile stretch between Detroit and Chicago would fall short of a federal requirement that stipulates a rail line must be 750 miles or more to qualify for certain federal funding. But it could be viewed as a “national system” under the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act if officials determine the value of the line extends from St. Louis to Toronto (788 miles), Chicago to Montreal (850 miles) or St. Louis to Montreal (1,117 miles).

Transportation Competition

Snyder spoke of rail being a “lifeline” for manufacturing and agricultural exports. But when he pitches his infrastructure improvements, some believe the state legislature will balk at spending public money on something that could be construed as competition for the auto industry.

“A lot of road-construction guys are going to view rail investment as poaching on their territory, and vice versa,” said State Senator John Proos, who represents a three-county area in southwest Michigan. On transportation and infrastructure in the state, he said, “my colleagues see it as a siloed problem that we have.”

Porcari cautioned, “this is not a zero-sum game. The state that put America on wheels can remain confident that automotive will be a very important industry in the future. We need to work on all parts of our transportation system.”

What’s Next: Freight Edition

Snyder outlined a two-pronged approach to where potential rail investment would go in Michigan. For freight, he would like to see investments in efficiencies for intermodal freight yards in Detroit.

Also, he believes attention given to the possibility of building another bridge to Canada has overshadowed another project – the potential for a rail tunnel between the countries. A rail tunnel to Canada would, “make it easier for container loads to go through, and for the automotive industry to do double-decking,” Snyder said. “Those things should be very high on our list.”

What’s Next: Passenger Edition

For passenger travel, he said Michigan would continue to look at the Detroit-to-Chicago line as a critical piece of transportation. Last month, the state used $140 million in Federal Railroad Administration funds to purchase a 135-mile stretch of rail from Norfolk Southern. The purchase will allow Michigan to accelerate service along the line. Steudle said trains are already reaching 95 miles per hour in certain stretches, and testing will begin in a matter of weeks on stretches where trains can push 110 mph.

Also, he wants to ensure that a potential commuter rail project, which could run from Ann Arbor through Dearborn to Detroit, includes a stop at Detroit Metro Airport in its plans.  He believes such a system could be tied in with the WALLY service scheduled to operate between Howell and Ann Arbor, a controversial project that Snyder endorses, incidentally.

“I don’t dismiss the WALLY at all,” Snyder said. “I’m going from Ann Arbor to Lansing, I’m going the better direction on U.S. 23. I see the traffic jams. It’s hard to believe there could be a more congested road.”

Ridership On The Rise

The number of people riding on Michigan’s three passenger corridors is rising, even as disruptions mount. n the service that runs between Detroit and Chicago, which Porcari called “severely degraded” in recent years, ridership increased 16 percent in 2010 and is currently up 4.9 percent in 2011. Revenues on the line increased $18 to $19 million, according to Steudle.

On the line that runs between Port Huron and Chicago, via stops in East Lansing and Battle Creek, ridership rose 27 percent in 2010, according to Steudle, with revenues increasing by $6 million. A third line between Grand Rapids and Chicago has increased ridership of 6 percent and a revenue increase of $3 million.