[3] At the time of the sale the railroad believed it was likely they would soon be ceasing passenger operations outside of the Northeast Corridor, which would have rendered their ownership of the station unnecessary, so, when approached with an offer by the C.A.

[3] To expand the small waiting room space of the former express office as a station building, Amtrak began work on enclosing space under the canopy between the express office and the original Michigan Central Railroad station, but stopped after Ann Arbor issued a stop-work order due to Chuck Muer (C.A.

[3] As a makeshift measure, a surplus portable classroom building was purchased from the Ann Arbor Public Schools, and placed under the Broadway Bridge for use as an overflow waiting room.

[3] Pollack Design Associates, an Ann Arbor-based firm, was contracted to conduct a study, including exploring alternative sites at which a new station building might be located.

Baggage cannot be checked at this location; however, carry-ons of up to two suitcases, in addition to any "personal items" such as briefcases, purses, laptop bags, and infant equipment are allowed on board.

The station's waiting room has roughly 60 seats, which is less than its typical boarding loads (which were 80 to 120 passengers circa 2017).

[1][6][7] Notable nearby locations include the University of Michigan and the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

[13] In 2019, of the 265 city pairs served at Chicago Union Station, Ann Arbor–Chicago ranked sixth-highest in both ridership and revenue.

[5] In addition to concerns about existing inadequacies of the current station, discussion about building a new station also arose in anticipation of increased use due to higher-speed service along the Wolverine route, the possible addition of more Amtrak service, as well as possibility of a commuter rail being established between Detroit and Ann Arbor.

[5] As of 2014, projections had been made that, by some point between the years 2035 and 2040, if roundtrips of the Wolverine were increased to ten (from the existing three), annual ridership at the station could reach 969,000.

[16] However, in February 2012, it was determined the Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan would not be partnering to construct a 1,000 car parking structure for such a station,[17] which led to the plan being scrapped.

[21] In October 2013, the Ann Arbor City Council approved a resolution which hired the URS Corporation to lead an environmental review study for a new station.

The remaining six sites under consideration were the south side of Barton Pond (at the north edge of the Barton Nature Area), an area near Argo Pond and Bandemer Park, a site next to the University of Michigan's Mitchell Field, and two locations in and adjacent to Gallup Park.

[15] The team eliminated consideration of a station on a portion of track along North Main Street next to Argo Pond.

The reasons for ending consideration of this location were site constraints, such as the requirement for several private properties to be acquire (forcing several businesses to relocate), and concerns about transit connections and roadway access.

By the time of the report, Amtrak had made it known that the preferred for a new station to be built elevated above the tracks, so that a single waiting room could provide easy access to platforms serving both east and westbound trains.

[15] In September 2017, the city of Ann Arbor released a 212-page environmental assessment report looking at options for a new station.

[5] The report was released with clearance from the Federal Railroad Administration, who the city had been in private discussions with for months.

[5] The report included a projection that shorter travel times on the Wolverines (as a result of rail improvements), along with increased train frequencies, and improved reliability and connections for the route could lead to the station seeing 969,000 annual passengers by 2035 (if the Wolverine increased frequency to 10 daily roundtrips by then).

[5] The report also included a projection that a commuter rail service to Detroit could see between 134,320 and 229,950 annual passengers at the station.

[21] Local partners could include Washtenaw County's government, Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, University of Michigan, MDOT, and Greyhound Lines.

[28] In 2022, Ann Arbor officials tried again lobbying for federal support, declaring that it might be possible to reduce the scale of the planned station and accompanying parking and to reconfigure bus accommodations in a manner that would bring down projected costs.

Advantages given for the existing Depot Street location include superior proximity to Ann Arbor's downtown, slightly stronger public preference (per studies done years prior), and strong connections to bicycle and pedestrian facilities.