Jackson asks for westward extension of Detroit-Ann Arbor line

It seems like everyone wants to get in on the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail project, including Jackson.Excerpt:It’s easy to make the southeast Michigan connection when thinking about Detroit and Ann Arbor, but Jackson?Most people wouldn’t consider the birthplace of the Republican Party part of the Metro Detroit mix, but Jackson’s leaders are lobbying to be let into the game by including it in one of the region’s marquee projects – the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line.Currently the project’s first phase, set to become a reality in the fall of 2010, stretches between Ann Arbor and Detroit with stops at Ypsilanti, Metro Airport and Dearborn. That’s it for now, according to Carmine Palombo, director of transportation programs for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, which is spearheading the project.He added there is talk of extending the line north into Oakland County with stops at Royal Oak, Birmingham/Troy and Pontiac as part of a second phase. SEMCOG is also looking at utilizing Jackson’s rail yard as a base for the line, but extending the line to downtown Jackson isn’t in the cards, at least not for the project’s first phase.Read the rest of the story here.