South Shore Line

South Shore Line
South Shore line
Reporting mark	NICD
Locale	Chicago, IL to South Bend, IN
Dates of operation	1903–present
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Chesterton, IN
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South Shore Line Legend Millennium Station Van Buren Street Museum Campus/11th Street McCormick Place 57th Street 63rd Street Metra Electric - South Chicago Kensington/115th Street Metra Electric Hegewisch Illinois/Indiana Hammond East Chicago Gary Airport Gary Metro Center Miller Ogden Dunes Dune Park Beverly Shores 11th Street Carroll Avenue Hudson Lake South Bend Airport

The South Shore Line (reporting mark NICD) is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line (passenger) operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana. Freight service is operated by the Chicago SouthShore and South Bend Railroad.

History

Chicago and Indiana Air Line Railway

The oldest predecessor of the line was the Chicago and Indiana Air Line Railway, chartered on December 2, 1901. Service began in September, 1903, between East Chicago, Indiana and Indiana Harbor (now a neighborhood of East Chicago, but once an independent municipality). The following year it was renamed the Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway. Revenue service began July 1, 1908, on the line from Michigan City east to South Bend. An extension west to State Line Junction in Hammond, a transfer point for other railroads, opened September 8.

Chicago Lake Shore and South Bend Railroad

The Chicago Lake Shore and South Bend Railroad (CLS&SB) began serving northern Indiana in 1908. It was part of the Interurban growth that was beginning across the United States. Unlike street cars, the 'South Shore Line' operated on a high voltage system that allowed for the use of standard railroad gauge equipment.

The Illinois Central Railroad-owned Kensington and Eastern Railroad was chartered in Illinois to complete the route, and was leased to the CLS&SB on April 4, 1909. That year the full line to Kensington, Illinois on the Illinois Central was completed, and from June 2, 1912, one, trains were coupled to IC steam locomotives and ran all the way to downtown Chicago.

Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad

The Chicago Lake Shore and South Bend entered receivership on February 28, 1925, and was bought at foreclosure by Samuel Insull's Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (incorporated June 23) on June 29. The line handled both freight and passengers. ^[1]

The power system was changed from 6600 volts AC to 1500 volts DC on July 28, 1926, allowing CSS&SB trains to operate directly to the Illinois Central's Randolph Street Terminal without an engine change. Trains began running to Chicago on August 29. That same year, the original line between East Chicago and Indiana Harbor was abandoned.

The CSS&SB turned a profit during World War II due to the industrial nature of Northern Indiana. However, highway competition and suburban growth led to ridership declines. By the 1950s all inter urban lines were seeing a decline in rail travel as auto travel increased. ^[1] On September 16, 1956, a street-running section in East Chicago was removed with the building of a new alignment alongside the Indiana Toll Road. A truncation to west of downtown South Bend removed street trackage in that city from July 1, 1970. However, street trackage still exists in downtown Michigan City. In 1976, the South Shore filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission to end passenger service. It was not approved.

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District

Southbound NICTD South Shore train, led by car #109, seen entering the 55th-56th-57th Street station in Hyde Park (Chicago)

The line was operated as the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad until it went bankrupt in 1989, when the NICTD, which was formed in 1977 to help fund the line, took over operations. The line's freight service was picked up in 1990 by the new Chicago SouthShore and South Bend Railroad, which still operates freight service.

The NICTD is one of the few surviving interurbans in the United States, with only the Norristown High Speed Line and SEPTA Suburban Trolley Lines in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area in the same category. The main rail yard, shed and dispatching office are in Michigan City, with the corporate headquarters in Chesterton.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway bought the line on January 3, 1967. The CSS&SB was one of six railroads with "long-distance" passenger services to decline joining Amtrak in 1971 and in 1976, they asked the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon passenger service. The ICC gave the State of Indiana a chance to reply and subsequently, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District was formed in 1977 to fund the service. When the railway went bankrupt, passenger service was taken over by the NICTD in December 1989. In December 1990, the track was sold to the NICTD and freight service was taken over by the new Chicago SouthShore and South Bend Railroad, a subsidiary of short line operator Anacostia and Pacific.

On November 21, 1992, an extension was opened from the old terminus at the South Bend Amtrak station to the South Bend Airport.

South Shore train at the 11th Street stop in Michigan City, Indiana

As of November 2005, there is an ongoing debate pertaining to plans to relocate trackage off the streets of Michigan City.^[2]. In July 2009, NICTD announced its intention to relocate the Michigan City track 3/4th of a mile south of its current location in order to smooth out the curves, cut down the number of grade crossings, increase speed and reduce maintenance costs (see this pdf map for details). The plan also calls for the elimination of the Carroll Avenue station and the construction of the new 11th Street station. The station would be built a block west of its current location, between Franklin and Washington streets. It would have a high-level platform and a large parking lot. The plan would require a demolition of hundreds of residential and retail buildings currently located on the south side of 11th Street.^[3]

At a legislative hearing in October 2008, NICTD officials said they would drop further study of a Munster-to-Valparaiso route, known as the West Lake Corridor, and begin study of a Gary-to-Valparaiso route. At the hearing, NICTD officials said the projected cost of $673 million for the Munster-to-Valparaiso route as well as low projected ridership would have made it ineligible for federal funding. NICTD officials contend the shorter length of a Gary-to-Valparaiso run — as well as the chance to use existing tracks there — may make it a lower-cost alternative to the Munster-to-Valparaiso route. NICTD plans to apply for federal funding for a preliminary engineering study and environmental survey of the Hammond-to-Lowell leg next year. Building that leg has a projected price tag of $551 million.^[4]

Concern over the price of gasoline as well as the growing population of Northern Indiana has increased the ridership of the South Shore Line enough to require the addition of new passenger railway cars to the line. In March 2009, 14 double-decker cars were put into service to help alleviate overcrowding on certain trains. However, the recent economic recession put a sizable dent in ridership statistics, especially weekend ridership^[5].

From the end of August until early November 2009, train service will be discontinued every other weekend to allow the railroad to replace the antiquated overhead power catenary between Gary and Michigan City with a more modern constant-tension system to reduce sagging during summer months and breaking during bitter cold months.^[6][7]

During the September 25 2009 board meeting, NICTD voted to bring weekend and holiday fares in line with weekday fares on November 22, 2009, when the new weekend schedule will take effect. The weekend and holiday fares have been lower than weekday fares since 2003 as a promotion to encourage more riders. Jeff Parson, NICTD's marketing director, explained that the fare increase was needed to make up for a shortfall in revenue due to declining weekday ridership. ^[8]

Station stops

The South Shore Line and how it corresponds to the Metra Grid

South Shore Line trains make the following station stops: (not all trains stop at all stations)^[9]

Illinois

• Millennium Station (Randolph Street)
• Van Buren Street
• Museum Campus/11th Street
• McCormick Place (weekends only) - flag stop
• 57th Street (moved from 59th Street in 2004)
• 63rd Street (very limited service)
• Kensington
• Hegewisch

Tail end of a South Shore Train

Indiana

• Hammond
• East Chicago
• Gary Airport / Clark Road (Gary/Chicago International Airport) - flag stop
• Gary Metro Center
• Miller
• Ogden Dunes / Portage
• Dune Park
• Beverly Shores - flag stop
• 11th Street (Michigan City)
• Carroll Avenue (Michigan City)
• Hudson Lake - flag stop
• South Bend Airport

All stops between Randolph Street and Kensington are also served by the Metra Electric Line. Metra owns the track in this territory. Because of this, the east-bound South Shore Line is loading only between those two stops; west-bound is unloading only.

In popular culture

• In the film The Dark Knight, Batman rides his motorcycle through Millennium Station to continue pursuit of The Joker.

See also

• Chicago SouthShore and South Bend Railroad, a freight rail line

References

External links

• Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (passenger)
• Chicago, Illinois / South Bend, Indiana: The South Shore Line
• SouthShore.Railfan.net
• Metra Railfan Tips - South Shore Line
• The Little Railroad That Could, The South Shore
• 1973 Illinois Central Gulf Railroad track charts - Kensington and Eastern Railroad
• Operations between Michigan City and Gary on the prototype Ideal Section
• Unofficial South Shore Line GoogleMap

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