| Detroit Line | |
| Type: | Freight rail |
| System: | Norfolk Southern |
| Status: | Active |
| Locale: | Michigan |
| Start: | Toledo |
| End: | Monroe |
| Owner: | Norfolk Southern |
| Operator: | Norfolk Southern |
| Tracks: | 1-2 |
The Detroit Line is a freight railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of Michigan and Ohio.
The line begins south of Gibraltar Road in Gibraltar, Michigan as a continuation of the Conrail Detroit Line, and runs southwest to Toledo, Ohio, consisting of two separate and parallel tracks. Track #1 is the southbound track originally owned by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. Track #2 parallels Track #1 to the east running from adjacent to 0.5miles apart, and is the northbound track originally owned by Michigan Central Railroad. Track #2 is paralleled directly to its east by the CN/GTW Shore Line Subdivision from the start of the line at Gibraltar Road to Vienna Junction just north of the Michigan–Ohio state line.[1] The Detroit Line's southern end is at the Chicago Line at Air Line Junction in western Toledo.[2]
The Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad opened a line from Detroit to Toledo in 1856. The Toledo, Canada Southern and Detroit Railway opened a parallel line, just to the east, in 1873. With the 1930 lease of the Michigan Central Railroad by the New York Central Railroad, both lines were placed under NYC operation.[2] [3] The lines passed to Conrail, and were assigned to Norfolk Southern in Conrail's 1999 breakup; they are now used through a directional running setup, in which southbound trains use the old DM&T and northbound trains use the old TCS&D.