Kalamazoo’s XTrain Party Draws Hundreds Despite Noise Complaints

It’s officially X-Train season in Kalamazoo, which is a tradition that has been going on for decades.

One of the least glamorous things Kalamazoo is known for is the infamous X-train, which is when dozens of cars pull into a particular gas station and throw somewhat of a mobile party.

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The owner of the Shell station on W. Michigan Ave. recently spoke to News Channel 3 about these parties and said they have been going on for decades. This particular Shell station is the most popular site for the X-train, where he estimated that anywhere from 400 to 500 people were in the area last weekend in roughly 150 cars between his gas station and other business lots at W. Michigan Ave. and Westnedge.

The gathering is technically considered a mobile nuisance party, when a massive amount of vehicles will gather in the street late at night in Kalamazoo.

Normally, they throw a little bit of a party with music, but in the past, there have been reports of street racing.

Since 2019, however, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety has deemed these parties to be illegal under the Kalamazoo city ordinance, and they have given the owner of the gas station tips to avoid confrontation, like turning off all of their outside lights when they notice an excessive amount of vehicles entering their premises.

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety tries its best to respond quickly when there are complaints of excessive amounts of vehicles and noise, and they too have their own tactics they use to try to limit the amount of X-train occurrences that take place.

Even though Michigan is celebrating the return of the lightning bug, the X-train bug is one pest we can’t seem to get rid of.