Amid Chicago’s well-documented transit woes, especially at the calamitous Chicago Transit Authority, the region’s historic South Shore Line has been a quiet success story. On May 14, just in time for warm-weather trips to the Indiana Dunes National Park, the line, run by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), will introduce a new expanded train schedule, a consequence of the completed double tracking of its electric-powered corridor lining Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
The improvements are very impressive. The South Shore Line, which was built between 1901 and 1908, now will offer an additional 14 weekday trains, including new express service that will take travelers from Chicago’s Millennium Station to the lovely dunes in just 57 minutes. As anyone headed to Indiana and Michigan resort towns will attest, those times are tough to beat by car, especially during the morning and evening rush. Improvements in addition to the new 18 miles of double tracking include new stations, better accessibility at existing stations, more parking, fewer at-grade crossings and expanded accommodations for bikes. Michigan City, a lakefront town with much potential that needs a lot of help given its struggling outlet mall and sleepy downtown, will be one of the major beneficiaries with its new 11th Street station. And students at Notre Dame now will find it much easier to hop a train to spend a day or a weekend in Chicago, now just 1 hour and 49 minutes away from South Bend, which is very competitive with the typical drive time. Fighting Irish football fans will be able to take the trip in reverse.
When it comes to Amtrak service, massive state and federal investments on lines like the ones from Chicago to St. Louis and Chicago to Michigan have not (yet, at least) been accompanied by significantly increased service. But those South Shore Line trains are going to be a lot more visible as they whizz quietly back and forth without belching fumes into the air.
A South Shore Line train car is emblazoned with a barred owl and birding enthusiasts at the Dune Park station in Chesterton, Indiana. (Amy Lavalley/Post-Tribune)
This all came at a price, of course: some $650 million, about 30% of which came from federal funds, with the rest made up of state and local funds. But the project, which entailed some three years of construction, came in on time, and the benefits are clear for the communities on the line, as well as for Chicagoans looking to breathe a little easier outdoors.
It used to take one hour and 47 minutes to get from Michigan City to Chicago. As of May 14, it will take you as little as 67 minutes, and there are many more timetable options for riders to boot. That’s a big difference.
If only all infrastructure projects went so well and provided such obvious benefits to so many constituencies.
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