Local Amtrak travelers may have to adjust their schedules this summer, as the national railroad transportation has modified a number of its Michigan timetables for the next several months.

Starting on Monday, trains running on the Wolverine and Blue Water service lines will have modified stop times at stations around the state, including at the stations in Niles and Dowagiac. The trains will be running on the adjusted schedule through Aug. 31.

The reason for the adjustment is due to maintenance work that railroad crews will be performing on the tracks in the western Michigan area.

“The schedules are changed to allow the crews more time to work on the tracks without having to stop and move out of the way for incoming trains,” said Amtrack spokesman Marc Magliari. “This will make them more productive, so they can get the work done quickly.”

Amtrak will make improvements to the tracks and signals around Kalamazoo, including the replacement of 44,000 crossties.

“After many years of deferred maintenance, we have a lot of work to catch up on, which we’ve been doing,” Magliari said.

Once the work is completed, customers should see improved reliability and a smoother ride when the trains resume their regular schedule on
Sept. 1.

The two trains that will be most heavily affected the changes are Trains 352 on the Wolverine Line, which runs from Chicago to Detroit, and 365 on the Blue Water line, which runs to Port Huron.

A complete list of changes to stops at Niles and Dowagiac are as follows:

• Dowagiac Train 350 (Daily): Formerly 10:17 a.m., now 9:57 a.m.

• Dowagiac Train 365 (Daily): Formerly 10:50 a.m., now 9:50 a.m.

• Niles Train 350 (Daily): Formerly 10:07 a.m., now 9:47 a.m.

• Niles Train 365 (Daily): Formerly 11:03 a.m., now 10:03 a.m.