Lighted CPKC Holiday Train expected to pass through Southeast Michigan on Nov. 22

Southeast Michigan train enthusiasts can put Nov. 22 on their calendar as the likely date to look for the lighted CPKC Holiday Train as it travels between concert stops.

The Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) company announced on Wednesday that its train tours will begin Nov. 19 in Montreal, Quebec. As in recent years, there are two train routes with scheduled stops in 182 communities across Canada and the United States. This annual tradition provides live performances and holiday cheer while promoting donations to community food pantries.

None of the performances in recent years have included Southeast Michigan. But area residents are known to host watch parties and wait near railroad tracks in hopes of seeing the holiday lights on the traveling train cars.

If it follows the expected route, one of the two CPKC trains will pass several Southeast Michigan communities, including Romulus, Belleville, Milan and Adrian, during the evening or night of Nov. 22. That train has a performance at 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 22 in Windsor, Ontario, and a performance at 5:30 p.m. CT Nov. 23 in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, according to the tour schedule.

The rail company said it will post updates on its Facebook page and other social media platforms as the tour takes place. The rail company asks people to stay 50 feet away from tracks when watching for the lighted train.

The Holiday Train tradition began in 1999 and has raised more than $28.3 million and collected more than 5.6 million pounds of food for community food banks in Canada and the U.S.