The South Shore Line will implement its new train schedule starting Aug. 20.
The new schedule is the result of customer feedback. It includes the removal of the McCormick Place Station flag stop from regularly scheduled service. The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District will serve the McCormick Place station during large events at the convention center.
NICDT's decision was made to improve weekend and holiday on-time performance. The McCormick Place stop is at 23rd Street between King and Lake Shore drives.
In a letter to riders dated July 26, Michael Noland, president of the South Shore Line/NICTD, said the board was working “to improve service since the completion of the double-track project.”
The Double Track Northwest Indiana project was completed May 13. The $650 million project was finished on time and under budget.
The new schedule will continue to offer express and local options. Express trains provide expedited travel times from the following cities to Chicago:
- Michigan City – 67 minutes
- Dune Park – 57 minutes
- Portage/Ogden Dunes – 51 minutes
- Gary (Miller) – 46 minutes
- South Bend – 109 minutes
The project added almost 18 miles of new track along a 26-mile corridor between Gary and Michigan City. It added 14 new trains to its schedule and reduced travel times to and from Chicago. The new track allows for 53 trains to and from Chicago.
The double-track project also included platform changes at five stations. It added 1,475 new parking spaces. the project also included the reconstruction of 22 at-grade crossings and 20 culverts.
The companion $950 million West Lake Corridor project is expected to be competed in May 2025.
The two projects combined are expected to attract $2.7 billion in private investment in the Region, along with 6,000 new jobs.
The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District operates the South Shore Line between the Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend International Airport in South Bend. Find the new train schedule, effective Aug. 20, here. Comments can be made through Aug. 13 here.
