South Shore express train to cut commute time to Chicago
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - An express commuter train starting next month that will allow commuters to board in South Bend at 6 a.m. and arrive in downtown Chicago in less than two hours is just the start of work to reducing commuting times, a rail official says.
The goal is to eventually cut travel time on the South Shore commuter line between South Bend and Chicago to 90 minutes, Michael Noland, general manager of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District which operates it told the South Bend Tribune (http://bit.ly/1zxPL7D ). The rail could make Michigan City a bedroom community of Chicago, he said.
"Our growth as a railroad will depend on reducing travel times to Chicago, and that starts in South Bend and goes all the way to the city," Noland said. "This type of service really is the wave of the future for the South Shore."
The rail system's 20-year strategic plan outlines more than $1 billion worth of potential changes.
One change the commuter line would like to see is moving the train platform from the east side of South Bend's airport to the west side, which could eliminate several rail crossings and reduce travel time by at least 10 minutes. Mike Daigle, the airport's executive director, said airport officials have cooperated with South Shore to apply for grants to fund that work.
Replacing the single track embedded in asphalt in Michigan City with a double track separated from automobile traffic could save 20 to 25 minutes, Noland said. Other projects include more double-track installations and raising station platforms to speed up the process of entering and exiting trains.
The express train that will run weekdays starting March 16 will allow early risers to catch a train at 6 a.m. in South Bend and arrive in downtown Chicago one hour and 55 minutes later. That's more than 40 minutes faster than the existing early morning train.
An afternoon express train will leave Millennium Station just before 4 p.m. and take about 2 hours and 4 minutes to get to South Bend.
The express service is expected to be particularly attractive to those who make business trips to Chicago.
Noland said the schedules for other trains in and out of South Bend won't change dramatically because of the express service. Weekend service won't be affected either, as the express will run only on weekdays.
The South Shore's weekend trains are already popular among South Bend passengers.
"South Bend basically dominates our weekend market," said John Parsons, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District's marketing director. "We carry roughly 300 passengers a day into and out of South Bend on a weekday, but that more than doubles on a weekend."
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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com