NICTD/South Shore Line

[Nitro]

The South Shore reminds me of New Jersey and Connecticut.

[Busjack]

3 hours ago, Nitro said:

The South Shore reminds me of New Jersey and Connecticut.

Sorry, nobody wants to emulate them.

I grew up in Hammond and rode it. Both the orange cars (regular and picture window) and Nippon Sharyo ones. In your day in Chicago, did you ride them? Apparently not, if you didn't realize that its power had to be compatible with ME.

If you're that conversant with NICTD, tell me what station under construction is about a mile from my boyhood home.

[artthouwill]

57 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Sorry, nobody wants to emulate them.

I grew up in Hammond and rode it. Both the orange cars (regular and picture window) and Nippon Sharyo ones. In your day in Chicago, did you ride them? Apparently not, if you didn't realize that its power had to be compatible with ME.

If you're that conversant with NICTD, tell me what station under construction is about a mile from my boyhood home.

I don't know if he can figure it out,  but basically there's only 2 possibilities.   I used to live near one of them.   

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, artthouwill said:

I don't know if he can figure it out,  but basically there's only 2 possibilities.   I used to live near one of them.   

In that I'm not giving out personally identifiable information, the question was more rhetorical (and directed to someone whom I knew did not know). However, it's not revealing too much to say it is near 173rd St.

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, Busjack said:

In that I'm not giving out personally identifiable information, the question was more rhetorical (and directed to someone whom I knew did not know). However, it's not revealing too much to say it is near 173rd St.

I figured it out  but I won't reveal it.   

[Nitro]

20 hours ago, Busjack said:

Sorry, nobody wants to emulate them.

I grew up in Hammond and rode it. Both the orange cars (regular and picture window) and Nippon Sharyo ones. In your day in Chicago, did you ride them? Apparently not, if you didn't realize that its power had to be compatible with ME.

If you're that conversant with NICTD, tell me what station under construction is about a mile from my boyhood home.

I did from Millennium Terminal to Hegeswisch. I enjoyed the RFW/Front Window.

[renardo870]

Looks like the South Shore Double Track Project between Gary & Dune Park will be completed on April 9th and normal rail service between Chicago and Michigan City & South Bend will resume at that time. A new schedule will be updated at a later time with 14 additional trains added for expanded service and the running time between Millennium Park & Michigan City will decrease from 1hr 40 minutes to 1hr and 07 minutes. 

[Busjack]

11 minutes ago, renardo870 said:

Looks like the South Shore Double Track Project between Gary & Dune Park will be completed on April 9th and normal rail service between Chicago and Michigan City & South Bend will resume at that time. A new schedule will be updated at a later time with 14 additional trains added for expanded service and the running time between Millennium Park & Michigan City will decrease from 1hr 40 minutes to 1hr and 07 minutes. 

Link

Seems about a month ahead of schedule.

Also noted on their website is that the Hammond station will move to the Hammond Gateway station and close in Spring 2024. That wasn't clear before. From the notice of track work at the Hegewisch station and the Construction Update that streets through Calumet Ave. will be closed, it looks like part of the West Lake Corridor project is rebuilding the main line up to about where it joins the Toll Road.

[artthouwill]

11 hours ago, Busjack said:

Link

Seems about a month ahead of schedule.

Also noted on their website is that the Hammond station will move to the Hammond Gateway station and close in Spring 2024. That wasn't clear before. From the notice of track work at the Hegewisch station and the Construction Update that streets through Calumet Ave. will be closed, it looks like part of the West Lake Corridor project is rebuilding the main line up to about where it joins the Toll Road.

While I suppose it makes sense to have only one Hammond station and Sheffield is pretty close to Holman Ave, I still wonder if there would be any added incentive for those people to make the quick drive to Hegewisch  and save money on the fares?  The only problem may be lack of parking  there since Hegewisch is the line's busiest station.  At least Hegewisch and Hammond passengers can use both Gary/Michigan City/South Bend trains as well as West Lake Corridor trains 

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, artthouwill said:

While I suppose it makes sense to have only one Hammond station and Sheffield is pretty close to Holman Ave, I still wonder if there would be any added incentive for those people to make the quick drive to Hegewisch  and save money on the fares?  The only problem may be lack of parking  there since Hegewisch is the line's busiest station. 

When NICTD raised fares in the Hammond-East Chicago zone in response to a Metra fare hike, it did so to discourage Hegewisch passengers from using free parking in Hammond and East Chicago, as the Metra parking operator charges. I assume more parking will be provided in Hammond, as it has been from Miller east.

1 hour ago, artthouwill said:

At least Hegewisch and Hammond passengers can use both Gary/Michigan City/South Bend trains as well as West Lake Corridor trains 

The theory behind the Gateway Station was that the Hammond mayor wanted a place to transfer from West Lake [now Monon] corridor trains to [now] Lakeshore trains. Some maps had the new line swinging east to around Johnson Ave to a junction east of the Hammond station, but the actual construction was pretty much straight north over Hohman Ave and the swamps around the Grand Calumet River.

BTW, with the demise of Hammond Transit, access to what's left of downtown isn't too convenient. When the Dan Rabin TC was still open, I was thinking about a rail station there, but it isn't.

[Busjack]

Interesting YouTube showing construction in Hammonf from about 167th St. to 175th St., including the complete South Hammond platform.

Speaking of parking, one of the justifications for the West Lake Corridor was that passengers wouldn't have to drive to the existing Hammond and East Chicago stations, and there's certainly enough room for parking on the property of the 173rd St. Yard.

[renardo870]

On 3/27/2024 at 11:24 PM, renardo870 said:

Looks like the South Shore Double Track Project between Gary & Dune Park will be completed on April 9th and normal rail service between Chicago and Michigan City & South Bend will resume at that time. A new schedule will be updated at a later time with 14 additional trains added for expanded service and the running time between Millennium Park & Michigan City will decrease from 1hr 40 minutes to 1hr and 07 minutes. 

I'm hearing that the new updated South Shore schedule should be posted in the coming weeks and that it may take effect around May 14th, 2024. Also, trains that start/end @ Gary Metro will be extended to start/end @ Miller and that two stub tracks are in place to store and turn trains from east to west. 

[Elkmn]

Those new schedules better be more frequent on the weekends. The old schedules had 4 hour gaps! 

[artthouwill]

9 hours ago, renardo870 said:

I'm hearing that the new updated South Shore schedule should be posted in the coming weeks and that it may take effect around May 14th, 2024. Also, trains that start/end @ Gary Metro will be extended to start/end @ Miller and that two stub tracks are in place to store and turn trains from east to west. 

That will be interesting.   I will try to take a ride there when this takes effect.   It will be crazy to see Miller with two tracks and high level platforms.  I wonder if Gary Metro will ever become a high platform station?

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, artthouwill said:

That will be interesting.   I will try to take a ride there when this takes effect.   It will be crazy to see Miller with two tracks and high level platforms.  I wonder if Gary Metro will ever become a high platform station?

If they are relying on Highliners. it would make sense, but nothing has been said. Probably would need the same type of rebuild as East Chicago.

[Elkmn]

So they're getting highliners from metra? They couldn't possibly run the westlake services and the additional double track services with the current fleet! It seems the only plausible thing to do, the corridor is only a year out and they haven't even put out a bid. I'm disappointed that they'll be using highliners but they're high capacity and are a cheap option. Who knows though? They might end up with some old njt arrows! That'd truly be a "foament".

[artthouwill]

5 minutes ago, Elkmn said:

So they're getting highliners from metra? They couldn't possibly run the westlake services and the additional double track services with the current fleet! It seems the only plausible thing to do, the corridor is only a year out and they haven't even put out a bid. I'm disappointed that they'll be using highliners but they're high capacity and are a cheap option. Who knows though? They might end up with some old njt arrows! That'd truly be a "foament".

I think the Highliners from Metra will be used for the Westlake Service.  The N S single level and Highliners already in their fleet will continue to run on the existing service seeing there are still low level platforms .

 

[Elkmn]

Maybe with the new schedules they'll implement a shuttle from the loop to hegewisch on weekends, seeing that the only way from downtown to hegewisch on sundays is the south shore line, and the neighborhood is already very cut off from the rest of the city.

[artthouwill]

34 minutes ago, Elkmn said:

Maybe with the new schedules they'll implement a shuttle from the loop to hegewisch on weekends, seeing that the only way from downtown to hegewisch on sundays is the south shore line, and the neighborhood is already very cut off from the rest of the city.

What?

[renardo870]

6 hours ago, Elkmn said:

Those new schedules better be more frequent on the weekends. The old schedules had 4 hour gaps! 

I'm sure there will additional trains on the Weekend/Holiday schedule with some short turns to Miller and more service to Michigan City and South Bend. 

[renardo870]

38 minutes ago, Elkmn said:

Maybe with the new schedules they'll implement a shuttle from the loop to hegewisch on weekends, seeing that the only way from downtown to hegewisch on sundays is the south shore line, and the neighborhood is already very cut off from the rest of the city.

 

3 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

What?

Definitely not likely. Chicago to Gary (Miller), Michigan City (Carroll Ave) and South Bend. Now there may be some shuttles from Michigan City to South Bend and next year from Dyer to Hammond Gateway Center but that's it.

[Elkmn]

Maybe a more sensible solution might be having the 30 running to 69th red line every day, instead of ending at 79th on sundays. It's still ridiculous the lack of good transit in hegewisch. I know of suburbs with better transit.

[artthouwill]

3 hours ago, Elkmn said:

Maybe with the new schedules they'll implement a shuttle from the loop to hegewisch on weekends, seeing that the only way from downtown to hegewisch on sundays is the south shore line, and the neighborhood is already very cut off from the rest of the city.

This has nothing to do with the South Shore Line. But since you mentioned it:

The 30 didn't have any Sunday ridership to 69th Red Line station so Sunday service cut back to 92nd.   Only in recent years was Sunday service extended to 79th.   Apparently most southeastsiders aren't interested in using the Red Line.  Maybe that might change a little when the Red Line extension opens but Hegewisch will probably continue to be the dominant choice  for South Shore riders.

[Busjack]

6 hours ago, Elkmn said:

So they're getting highliners from metra? They couldn't possibly run the westlake services and the additional double track services with the current fleet! It seems the only plausible thing to do, the corridor is only a year out and they haven't even put out a bid. I'm disappointed that they'll be using highliners but they're high capacity and are a cheap option. Who knows though? They might end up with some old njt arrows! That'd truly be a "foament".

Read below. No NJTs.

6 hours ago, artthouwill said:

I think the Highliners from Metra will be used for the Westlake Service.  The N S single level and Highliners already in their fleet will continue to run on the existing service seeing there are still low level platforms .

 

Nope. The NICTD minutes indicate the opposite:

Putting the HL--1s on the Monon Corridor wouldn't make sense. There's only 3 new stations on the line--it doesn't need that kind of capacity. On the other hand, they are adding 14 more trains to the Lakeshore Corridor,so they'll need more cars, and the Highliners offer more capacity per car.

A Nippon Sharyo picture appears to show a srairwell under the double doors, so I guess there;s a trap there, but I don't know what Metra did with the rebuild.

5 hours ago, Elkmn said:

Maybe with the new schedules they'll implement a shuttle from the loop to hegewisch on weekends, seeing that the only way from downtown to hegewisch on sundays is the south shore line, and the neighborhood is already very cut off from the rest of the city.

Only if Metra pays for it. It's the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.

As it is, Metra pays NICTD a certain percentage of its deficit to cover Hegewisch passengers, sets the fares, and brands the station as Metra.  Note the reference in the clip above to a Purchase of Service Agreement.

[Elkmn]

Where would they get the highliner I's from? arent they all scrapped or in museums? even if there are HL-Is available, it still seems like a step backwards, given that hl-1s are similar in very many ways to crappy old pullman/budd coaches on the diesel network. From some wikipedia snooping, I've discovered that seattle LINK light rail vehicles also use 1500 volts so..... 

 

In all seriousness, i wouldnt be completely opposed to SSL using more highliners as a stand in, but for the long run, they really need new trains, like Silverliner Vs (built for 1500 v)  or just like something from stadler. Metra should really look into running extra trains to hegewisch though, it's truly criminal how little transit goes there.