It’s the next big step forward for the long-gestating Michigan North-South Passenger Rail Project: Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, one of the key partners in that project, announced on Monday that it had hired engineering and professional services firm WSP to serve as the rail consultant for a crucial “Phase II study.” Groundwork and its partner, the Cadillac/Wexford Transit Authority, will now work alongside WSP to establish an actionable roadmap for how project players can go about fixing up railways, establishing passenger rail stations, and ultimately getting rail service up and running.

Groundwork put out a request for proposals (RFP) more than a year and a half ago to start the search for a Phase II consultant. WSP was hired after a "thorough and competitive selection process." The Phase II study, including WSP's services, will be paid for by $2.3 million worth of state and federal grants and is expected to take more than a year.

According to a Groundwork Center press release, priorities for the study include assessing ridership and market demand, evaluating railroad condition, looking at proposed route and service options, analyzing economic and financial plans for the service, brainstorming a management and governance structure for the rail system, and engaging local communities along the rail route “to address needs and gather community input.”