South Shore Line

Private operation

The South Shore Line was constructed between 1901 and 1908 by the Chicago and Indiana Air Line Railway (reorganized as the Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway [CLS&SB] in 1904). Revenue service between Michigan City and South Bend began on July 1, 1908.^[3] The CLS&SB leased the Kensington and Eastern Railroad on April 4, 1909, giving it access to Chicago. That year the full line to Kensington on the Illinois Central was completed, and beginning on June 2, 1912, the electric cars were coupled to IC steam locomotives and run to downtown Chicago.^[4]

The Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend entered bankruptcy in 1925 and was bought by Samuel Insull's Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (CSS&SB).^[5] The line continued to handle both freight and passengers. Under Insull, the CSS&SB embarked on a major rehabilitation program. This included new ballast and ties, 100-pound (45 kg) rail in place of 70-pound (32 kg) rail, brush clearance, and an overhaul of the line's block signals.^[6] In 1949, the company acquired three Little Joe electric locomotives for freight service. These locomotives had originally been constructed for the Soviet Union, but changing attitudes due to the Cold War prevented them from being delivered. Although the exact same type as the Milwaukee Joes, the South Shore bought them before the Milwaukee did. These locomotives continued in freight service on the CSS&SB until 1983. No. 803, is preserved in operating condition at the Illinois Railway Museum.

The power system was changed from 6600 volts AC to 1500 volts DC on July 28, 1926, allowing trains to operate directly to the Illinois Central Railroad's Randolph Street Terminal (now Millennium Station) without an engine change. Trains began running to Randolph Street on August 29.^[7] That same year, the original line between East Chicago and Indiana Harbor was abandoned.^[4]

The Chicago South Shore and South Bend 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 interurban lines were seeing a decline in rail travel as automobile use increased.^[8] 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.^[9] A truncation to west of downtown South Bend removed street trackage in that city from July 1, 1970.^[4]

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway acquired the CSS&SB on January 3, 1967, and continued the operation of passenger services.^[10] The Chicago South Shore and South Bend 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 (ICC) to abandon passenger service. The ICC gave the state of Indiana a chance to reply and subsequently, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) was formed in 1977 to subsidize service.

Public operation

In the late 1980s, the Chicago South Shore and South Bend went bankrupt and on December 29, 1989, passenger service was assumed by NICTD.^[11] In December 1990, the track was sold to NICTD and freight service was taken over by the new Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, a subsidiary of short line operator Anacostia & Pacific. On November 21, 1992, the line's South Bend terminus moved from the Amtrak station to the airport.^[12] On July 5, 1994, NICTD closed the Ambridge, Kemil Road, Willard Avenue, LaLumiere, Rolling Prairie, and New Carlisle flag stops. A seventh station, Dune Acres, closed around the same time once parking was expanded at nearby Dune Park.^[13] The railroad began a 3-year project in 2009 to replace all catenary on its line between Michigan City and Gary, some of which was nearly 90 years old. The project cost $18 million and caused service disruptions on weekends while new wires were strung.^[14]

The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE), replaced a bridge on the South Shore Line across 130th Street, Torrence Avenue, and Norfolk Southern tracks in the Hegewisch neighborhood of Chicago as a part of a four-year project lasting from 2011 to 2015.^[15][16] The 2,350-ton bridge would be put in place in August 2012.^[17]

In 2015 NICTD began an express service between South Bend and Chicago. Targeted at business travelers, the train makes just two intermediate stops: Dune Park and East Chicago. The total scheduled travel time is 1 hour 55 minutes, more than thirty minutes faster than existing services.^[18]

In July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, NICTD implemented "mask optional cars" for riders choosing not to wear masks, as Indiana did not have a statewide mask mandate.^[19] This received a controversial reception at the time, as it was alleged at the time to not help slow down the spread of the coronavirus disease, and the "mask optional" car was also the only car with bike racks.^[20][21] On November 14, 2020, the "mask optional cars" were discontinued, requiring all passengers to wear a mask.^[22][23]

Michigan City realignment and Double Track project

Since 2005, there had been an ongoing debate pertaining to plans to relocate trackage off the streets of Michigan City.^[24] In July 2009, NICTD announced its intention to relocate the Michigan City track 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.^[25] The plan also called for the replacement of both current stations with a single new station located a block west of the 11th Street boarding location (between Franklin and Washington streets) with a modern, high-level platform and parking lot. The plan would require a demolition of residential and retail buildings on the south side of 11th Street.^[26]

The relocation effort faced a setback in March 2010 when NICTD announced that it was short necessary funds to complete the preliminary engineering study. Unless the funding was found, the relocation would have been postponed indefinitely since, without the engineering study, NICTD would not be able to get state and federal funds necessary to complete the relocation.^[27] NICTD and the city continued to work on obtaining the funds needed.^[28] In 2011 NICTD accepted bids for a $1 million study, expected to take 18 months.^[29] The study was completed in October 2013. The preferred alternative identified by the study preserved an alignment similar to the current route but relocated the tracks alongside the street. It proposed replacing the two existing stations with a new station near the center of Michigan City.^[30]

As part of the Double Track Northwest Indiana project, NICTD added a second track along about 26.6 miles (42.8 km) from Gary to Michigan City during the 2020s.^[31] Work on the Double Track project commenced in 2021,^[32] and the Michigan City realignment was completed as part of the project.^[33] Street running ended on February 27, 2022, and buses temporarily replaced trains within this section.^[34][35] Service between Dune Park and Carroll Avenue resumed on October 25, 2023.^[36] Service on the remaining closed section between Gary and Dune Park restarted on April 9, 2024,^[37][38] with a new schedule taking advantage of the double track beginning on May 14.^[31][39][40] The Double Track project cost $649 million in total.^[32][40] Carroll Avenue station remains open despite prior plans to close it as part of the project.

Current

Quick facts Single-level electric multiple unit, In service ...

Single-level electric multiple unit
In service	1982–present
Manufacturer	Nippon Sharyo
Constructed	1982–1983, 1992, 2001
Number built	68
Formation	Married-pair
Fleet numbers	1–48, 201–210, 101–110
Capacity	93[51]
Operators	CSS&SB, NICTD
Line served	South Shore Line
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel
Car length	85 ft (25.91 m)[51]
Width	10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)[51]
Height	15 ft 11 in (4.85 m)[51]
Wheel diameter	36 in (914 mm)[51]
Wheelbase	8 ft 2+1⁄2 in (2.502 m)[51]
Maximum speed	79 mph (127 km/h)[51]
Weight	118,000 lb (54,000 kg)[51] (empty)
Traction system	IGBT-VVVF (Toshiba)[52]
Traction motors	3-phase AC induction motor (Toshiba)[52]
HVAC	Electric heating, Air conditioning
Electric systems	Overhead line, 1,500 V DC
Current collection	Pantograph
UIC classification	Bo’Bo’+Bo’Bo’
AAR wheel arrangement	B-B+B-B
Bogies	ND-312[51]
Coupling system	Tomlinson
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

Close

The South Shore Line operates with a fleet of 82 rail cars built between 1982 and 2009 by Nippon Sharyo. The fleet consists of 58 single-level self-propelled cars, 10 single-level unpowered trailers, and 14 bilevel self-propelled cars.^[53] The single level fleet's design shares commonalities with MARC's locomotive-hauled MARC II fleet, which were also built by Nippon Sharyo.^[54] An additional 26 cars are planned to be acquired, replacing those to be transferred to Monon Corridor services.^[55] Several Highliner IIs from Metra Electric have already been acquired.^[56]

Retired

Pullman and the Standard Steel Car Company delivered electric multiple units to the CSS&SB between 1926 and 1929. Many were lengthened in the 1940s and 1950s.^[57]

• 
  A CLS&SB wood-bodied interurban car at a siding
• 
  CSS&SB no. 102, built by Pullman in 1926, street-running in South Bend in 1962
• 
  CSS&SB no. 31, built by Standard Steel Car in 1929, at Randolph Street in 1968

South Shore Line Airport Realignment

There are proposals to replace the South Bend terminus with a new station. Since 2006,^[64] plans had been made to explore relocating the station to the west end of the South Bend International Airport.^[65][66] Locally preferred alternatives were presented to the original proposal to relocate the station.^[66][67] In 2018, South Bend's mayor Pete Buttigieg ordered a study of five possible locations for a new station serving South Bend.^[67] The South Bend Redevelopment Commission commissioned a study that December to further examine the cost of a station in downtown South Bend.^[68][69] In 2022, NICTD's board of trustees voted to issue a request for proposals to move the station to the west side of the airport.^[70] As of 2025^[update], NICTD is moving forward with its plans to build a new station on the airport's west side, dubbing the project the "South Shore Line Airport Realignment". However, they have not ruled out the possibility of reestablishing service to downtown South Bend in the future.^[71]

Valparaiso branch

At a legislative hearing in October 2008, NICTD officials said they would drop further study of a Munster-to-Valparaiso route, and begin study of a Gary–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 and opted to study the Gary-to-Valparaiso route instead.^[72] The Gary-to-Valparaiso route would utilize the partially abandoned former Pennsylvania Railroad line. NICTD officials contend the shorter length of a Gary-to-Valparaiso run and the chance to use existing tracks there may make it a lower-cost alternative to the Munster-to-Valparaiso route. A Valparaiso branch via Hobart and Wheeler was again proposed in the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority's 2025 strategic plan.^[73]

Other proposed projects

In addition to the Valparaiso branch, the Regional Development Authority's 2025 strategic plan proposed a new South Shore Line branch to Crown Point via Hammond, as well as a southern extension of the Monon Corridor to St. John and beyond.^[73]

Studies are underway to reestablish a station in New Carlisle to supplant Hudson Lake station.^[74]

In the 1980s and 1990s, there was some discussion about the possibility of extending the line from South Bend east to Elkhart County, Indiana.^[75][76] In 1988, Elkhart, Indiana Mayor James Perron pushed for the government to look into making long-term plans for an extension into his city.^[77]

Routes

The South Shore Line operates two lines; the Lakeshore Corridor, which is its historical 90-mile (140 km) main line, and the Monon Corridor, a short 9-mile (14 km) branch line, which serves the Northwestern Indiana municipalities of Hammond, Munster, and Dyer.