41 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

The Times, Munster, IN 8/6:

 

South Shore upgrades get Lake County airing

 

HAMMOND | From noisy freight trains to the impact on homeowners, about 30 people brought a broad range of concerns to a public meeting Thursday on planned improvements for the South Shore commuter railroad.

 

Held at the Indiana Welcome Center the meeting first allowed officials to lay out the case for double-tracking the existing rail line and their intention of applying for state funds to help pay for it.

 

But with plans already shaping up for both planned improvements to the existing line and its extension to the suburbs, people took the chance to ask questions and try to get some answers.

 

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[CNJRoss]

The Times, Munster, IN 11/5:

 

NWI likely won't win Regional Cities funds

 

INDIANAPOLIS | Northwest Indiana likely will not receive Regional Cities funds from the state to help pay for double-tracking of the South Shore commuter rail line between Gary and Michigan City.

 

On Thursday, members of the Regional Cities Strategic Review Committee identified the South Bend, Fort Wayne and Evansville regions as probable recipients of the $84 million set aside this year by the Republican-controlled General Assembly to promote quality-of-place and prevent population stagnation.

 

The panel is set to finalize its recommendation for two regional winners Dec. 15.  .  .  .

 

SNIP

 

According to multiple committee members, the primary drawback of Northwest Indiana's vision to add rail capacity — and better connect Region residents to high-paying Chicago jobs — is the need to procure additional federal funds before work can begin.

 

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[CNJRoss]

Post-Tribune (by Chicago Tribune) 11/21:

 

Region may be off track for South Shore project

 

There's no official word yet, but it appears a South Shore double-tracking project won't receive state Regional Cities funding.

 

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District General Manager Mike Noland told the NICTD board Friday there was a preliminary indication the double-tracking project from Gary to Michigan City won't be chosen.

 

SNIP

 

Noland said the RDA and South Shore did succeed in communicating the significance of double-tracking to a wide audience. "It gave us a platform. One reason we didn't get it was a federal match was contingent, but we believe strongly our benefit cost index would be huge. The feedback we got was this was a project that should have been done 10 years ago."

 

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[CNJRoss]

The Times, Munster, IN, 3/6:
 

GUEST COMMENTARY: South Shore needs double-tracking

by Bill Hanna

 

I couldn’t help but think of an over-quoted line from William Faulkner – “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” – while reading a history of passenger rail in Northwest Indiana. As we and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District work toward expanding rail service in the Region, we are following in footsteps from the earliest days of what is now the South Shore railroad.

 

The South Shore’s predecessor, the Chicago & Indiana Air Line Railway, was financed by a group of investors from Cleveland headed by James B. Hanna (a distant relative? I’ll have to check!). However, Hanna’s investment in passenger rail didn’t pan out due to the same issue we have been talking about over the last few months: double-tracking of the South Shore line.

 

Bill Hanna is president and CEO of Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. The opinions are the writer’s.

 

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[CNJRoss]

Post-Tribune by the Chicago Tribune, 4/21:
 

RDA awards $1.6 million to South Shore double-track project

 

The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority board approved a $1.6 matching grant Thursday to assist the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District in its bid for federal funding for a $200 million South Shore double-tracking project from Gary to Michigan City.

 

The RDA contribution will go toward $4 million in preliminary engineering and environmental work for the project.

 

SNIP.

 

NICTD hopes to finalize its funding application with the Federal Transit Administration by August 2017. Federal money will cover half the project, but about $100 million must come from state and local sources.

 

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[Sloan]

 

 

South Shore Double Tracking Forges Ahead with RDA Grant for Preliminary Work

 

The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA) Board of the Directors took another step toward expanding commuter access to Chicago with a $1.6-million matching grant to the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) to help fund $4 million in preliminary engineering and environmental work for the South Shore double tracking project.

http://www.rtands.co...k.html?channel=

[CNJRoss]

The Times, Munster, IN 5/19/16:

Feds OK South Shore double-track project development

 

The Federal Transit Administration has given the operator of the South Shore Line approval to enter the project development stage for the proposed $210 million project to add a second track to a 25-mile stretch of the railroad between Gary and Michigan City.

 

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District announced the FTA's approval Thursday. The action puts the project in the pipeline for the possibility of 50 percent federal funding.

 

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[CNJRoss]

South Bend (IN) Tribune, 5/26:
 

Our Opinion: On the right track to keep South Short moving

 

If everything goes as planned, that trip on the South Shore could get significantly shorter.

 

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which operates the commuter rail line, has gotten federal approval to begin doing studies for a plan that would add a second track to a 25-mile stretch between Gary and Michigan City and cost an estimated $210 million.

 

That’s good news for commuters who have come to rely on the South Shore to get them to Chicago and other locations in northwest Indiana.  .  .  . 

 

SNIP 

 

The South Shore is a convenient, economical alternative for people who want to avoid the hassle of driving to Chicago and the accompanying sky-high parking fees. NICTD has done its best to shorten travel times by adding weekday express trains and making fewer stops by closing some stations along the way. Adding a second track is the best solution yet.

 

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[CNJRoss]

NICTD news release, 9/14:

 

Double Track NWI Public Workshops

Please join us at one of three upcoming public workshops in early October for our Double Track Northwest Indiana Project.

Double Track NWI will dramatically reduce travel times, increase the frequency of service, improve five stations, and bolster safety. Come learn about the project, our timelines, and how you can be involved. 

 

Tuesday, October 4th
6pm - 7:30pm
Miller Beach Arts & Creative District
Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts
540 S Lake St.
Gary, IN 46403

 

Wednesday, October 5th
6pm - 7:30pm
Indiana Dunes Visitor Center 
1215 N. State Road 49
Porter, IN 46304

 

Thursday, October 6th
6pm - 7:30pm
Michigan City - City Hall
100 E. Michigan Blvd. 
Michigan City, IN 46360

 

Click here for more information on the workshops.

[CNJRoss]

The Times, Munster, IN 10/7:

South Shore to explain plans to speed up the ride

 

Operators of the South Shore Line will give the public a look at a project they say would slash commute times to Chicago at three workshops this week.

 

The project would add a second track to the commuter railroad and upgrade five stations between Gary and Michigan City in an effort to speed the trip to Chicago. The estimated cost of the project, dubbed Double Track NWI, is $210 million.

 

According to estimates included in a new Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority strategic plan, almost half an hour would be sliced off the ride from Michigan City, with total trip time dropping to an hour and 11 minutes compared to the current hour and 39 minutes. The ride from Miller would be cut by 18 minutes, with total trip time dropping to 49 minutes from the current hour and seven minutes.

 

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