are other short-term or current projects un- derway. The track panels and ballast along 10th Street in Michigan City are being re- placed because of deterioration. The wooden trestle bridge over North Point Road in Hud- son Lake is being replaced and new continu- ously welded rail is being installed in the eastern part of La Porte County. Phase 3 of the catenary project is being carried out with NICTD’s own workforce. The process is slow, with five days taken to install a mile of wire. Some of the projects require bussing patrons because the rail line is shut down, but the customers are proving to be loyal. In- deed, after a long lull in patronage growth because of the Great Recession, ridership is once again growing. Patronage growth is a slow process that depends heavily on em- ployment in the Chicago Loop, but in June 2014, ridership was up 2.4 per cent over June 2013; that is 319,330 passengers com- pared to 311,839 in the preceding year. The 20-year strategic plan calls for basic investments to maintain service standards and reliability on the present South Shore Line. A West Lake Extension that links downtown Chicago with growth areas in parts of central and southern Lake County is part of the plan. Major improvements in the railroad to provide faster and more reli- able travel are critical for the future success of the line. Moreover, ongoing maintenance is necessary to keep the South Shore Line in a state of good repair. Ongoing planning and implementation
projects include installing Positive Train Control and many improvements designed to reduce running time, such as double- tracking the railroad from Gary to and through Michigan City. New station facili- ties are planned for Gary, including high- level platforms; high-level platforms are al- so planned for the Portage/Ogden Dunes station. New trackage into the South Bend station at the Michiana Regional Airport will help to reduce running time. Reducing running time is expected to increase the size of the market, attracting more cus- tomers from the eastern end of the railroad and locations such as South Bend. The plan also includes catenary improvements on Metra lines used by NICTD, where broken wires have caused service delays in the last few years. The cars that NICTD purchased shortly
after its start-up need to be replaced in the near future. To be replaced are 41 1982 vin- tage cars and 17 cars purchased in 1992. The cost of the new cars is expected to be $250 million. The expense of double-track- ing will probably be in the neighborhood of $100 million. Metra improvements to boost capacity
would focus on additional access trackage at Millennium Station at Randolph Street. The cost estimate for this work is $30 million. The West Lake Extension to Dyer is esti- mated to cost $571 million. Installing high- level platform at Portage/Ogden Dunes has a projected cost of $7 million. The three stations in Gary may be concentrated into just one major station for a cost of $30 to $52 million. The program of planned maintenance in-
cludes rail replacement, upgrades to switch- es and maintenance facilities, catenary re- newal, expanded parking facilities, and upgrades to the existing stations, with a pro- jected cost over twenty years of $40 million. NICTD plans to speed up service and also increase service frequency. The improve-
ments are expected to make Northwest In- diana a much more attractive place to live for people employed in downtown Chicago because of lower cost of living. Increased population would lead to increased state and local tax receipts. Let’s hope the state and local politicians realize that supporting the investments to South Shore Line service will have a beneficial impact. That support is not a done deal, because the default posi- tion of many Hoosier politicians and sup- posed leaders is to do nothing. It is no secret that a lot of nothing is done in the Hoosier Holy Land.
50 Years of Mass Transit
July 9, 2014, marked the 50th anniversary of the signing by President Johnson of the Urban Mass Transportation Act, beginning the revival of transit. A great deal of progress has been made, especially for rail transit, but finding transit buses younger than the person driving them was a prob- lem. The very first grants helped the Massa- chusetts Bay Transit Authority modernize rail stations, allowed the city of Cleveland to expand rail service to Hopkins International Airport, and helped Vallejo, Calif., to buy new buses. Your home town has probably benefited from the law. Thanks to Perry Maull for the news.
Transportation Progress?
Most readers of this magazine, and well-in- formed members of the public, know that the infrastructure of transportation in the United States needs work desperately. Pres- ident Obama has called on Congress to take action and provide the necessary money, calling on congressional Republicans to work with Democrats to ante up the cash. The chances are very good that nothing will happen and the transportation infrastruc- ture will not be improved in the near future. Politics is producing fiscal constipation, and this obdurance will hurt the competitive po- sition of the United States in the global econ- omy. Despite the need, the Senate was de- bating a measure that would extend tax breaks two more years for special interests. It appears that no political party wants to take any steps to make the other party look good — period. This practice is very clear in Indianapo-
lis, where the mayor is a Republican and the City-County Council is controlled by Democrats. The bitter winter of 2013-’14 left the streets in the Circle City in really horrible shape, with many thousands of potholes. There is no doubt in the public mind that much action is needed to mend the fabric of the streets. The mayor is pro- posing the expenditure of millions of dol- lars to repair the roads, but the City-Coun- ty Council won’t cooperate because it would make the mayor look good. Similar things are happening across the United States. When is common sense going to break out? Thanks to David Harris for the reminder and inspiration. Thanks also to John A. Lee and Douglas I. Duncan.
The Streetcar Comeback in America
Streetcars are once again on the menu in transportation for U.S. cities. For example, in 2014 it is expected that Tucson, Ariz., will open the $196 million, 3.9-mile Sun Link streetcar; Seattle is building a $139 million, 2.4-mile First Hill Streetcar; Atlanta is ex- pected to open a 2.7-mile downtown loop
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From Then to Now, To There and Back
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