Flint, MI (FLN)

1407 South Dort Highway
Flint, MI 48503-2878

Station Hours

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2023): $1,031,883
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2023): 23,434

• Ownerships
• Routes Served
• Contact
• Local Community Links

• Facility Ownership: Mass Transportation Authority (MTA Flint)
• Parking Lot Ownership: Mass Transportation Authority (MTA Flint)
• Platform Ownership: Mass Transportation Authority (MTA Flint)
• Track Ownership: Canadian National Railway Company (CN) Grand Trunk Western (GTW) (A subsidiary of CN)

• Blue Water

Derrick James
Regional Contact
governmentaffairschi@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

• City of Flint
• Flint Mass Transportation Authority (MTA)

The current intermodal Flint station was first occupied in 1989, and sits within a Flint Mass Transportation Authority (MTA) campus. This single-story brick, glass and metal station was built on an intermodal version of a plan standard in the 1980s for new Amtrak stations. This facility is shared with the MTA, which manages the station, as well as Greyhound and Indian Trails intercity bus lines.

This is the third Amtrak location in Flint since 1974, all along the same section of the Grand Trunk Western Railway (GTW, succeeded by Canadian National Railway), which connects Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritime provinces of Canada with New England, Port Huron and Chicago. The first GTW depot was moved to Muskegon in 1927, and another brick facility built, which still stands.

Flint, now the third largest city in Michigan, began as a trading post belonging to Jacob Smith who arrived in 1819 with his Chippewa wife. At that time, this region on the Flint River was called Grand Traverse. Eventually the growing settlement changed its name to Flint River, after the Native American word for the river, pawanunking, which referred to the rocky riverbed. The town was platted in 1830; its name was shortened to Flint in 1836 and the settlement was incorporated as a city in 1855.

Flint’s first rail line was the Flint and Pere Marquette, which arrived in 1859 and ran to Saginaw and eventually to Detroit. The east-west Grand Trunk came in 1871 from Port Huron, and continued west to Durand in 1876. The Pere Marquette built a belt line in 1929, which is now their main line. The GTW has evolved to become a major hauler of automobile parts and autos from Flint and across Michigan. The Pere Marquette freight line once served the now-demolished Buick City complex.

In the late 19th century, lumber gave way to the carriage-making industry, and with the conversion from horse-drawn carriages, the economy moved to automobile and related manufacturing. In 1904, local entrepreneur William C. Durant came to manage Buick, which became the largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1908. He then moved from Buick to found General Motors, and later, Chevrolet with his friend, Louis Chevrolet. General Motors was originally headquartered in Flint, as were Buick and Chevrolet, before moving headquarters to Detroit.

For the last century, Flint’s economy and history have been dominated by the automotive industry, and the economy has suffered with its decline. Redevelopment is envisioned by some as relying heavily upon the several institutions of higher learning in the city: University of Michigan-Flint, Kettering University, and Mott Community College. Commercial revitalization downtown has sought to restore buildings such as the first National Bank building; turn University Avenue into a mile-long “university corridor;” and other restoration and beautification projects in the downtown area. Mott College has initiated its own expansion with construction of a Regional Technical Center.

The city of Flint has been included in several famous and controversial film documentaries by Michael Moore, including Roger & Me, The Big One, Farenheit 9/11, and Bowling for Columbine. The rock band, Grand Funk Railroad, which was popular during the 1970s, was named as a riff upon the Grand Trunk Railroad, a historic landmark in this city.

The Blue Water Service is financed primarily through funds made available by the Michigan State Department of Transportation.

Station Building (with waiting room)