NICTD - West Lake Corridor (Gary, Hammond: real estate, apartment, rentals)

[Northwest Indiana]

If it helps anyone understand better: Valpo is kind of like the nicer and more forested version of De Kalb. You can certainly drive to Chicago from De Kalb everyday. But most people who live in De Kalb work in the surrounding area than in Chicago. Same for Valpo. Most people in Valpo are either small business owners or work in larger businesses with headquarters in Northwest Indiana (i.e., Centier Bank). There are some Valpo-Chicago commuters BUT they are A LOT less common than say, Munster-Chicago commuters.

[Bluefox]

I don't know...I still EDIT*: have not heard a compelling argument that* a train station will change the unique character of Valpo that so many of its residents love and want to preserve, rightfully so.

But at the same time I will agree that isn't a burden on the residents not to have the train. I only know a few commuters in Valpo and they seem perfectly fine with driving/taking the bus to Chicago, or the 15-20min drive to Chesterton. But Valpo is a steadily growing municipality, so it will be interesting to see how things will pan out in the next few years.

[svillechris]

Even if the Westlake Corridor plan for the South Shore doesn't come to fruition, why can't the Shore consider express trains? The train I ride every evening makes it's first stop at EC and bypasses Hegewisch and Hammond, but it's hardly an express train and takes just about the same amount of time as a normal train making all stops. Metra has an express train from Union Station to Naperville in 28 mins, which makes it extremely convenient for those living in the far suburbs. Is there a certain speed that NICTD must abide by that doesn't apply to Metra? Having quick express trains would be another way to draw more people to NWI that work downtown.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by svillechris

Even if the Westlake Corridor plan for the South Shore doesn't come to fruition, why can't the Shore consider express trains? The train I ride every evening makes it's first stop at EC and bypasses Hegewisch and Hammond, but it's hardly an express train and takes just about the same amount of time as a normal train making all stops. Metra has an express train from Union Station to Naperville in 28 mins, which makes it extremely convenient for those living in the far suburbs. Is there a certain speed that NICTD must abide by that doesn't apply to Metra? Having quick express trains would be another way to draw more people to NWI that work downtown.

I know there's a early train that stops at Chesterton and then doesn't stop again until Hammond. That hard turn at Kensington really slows things down, but even beyond there, it tends to move slow through South Chicago.

[domergurl]

Yea, that BNSF line was tailor made for express trains .. straight shot until Halsted. The South Shore tracks have to compete with all the freight trains in the area.

[Northwest Indiana]

Study: South Shore Lowell expansion has more steam

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

Study: South Shore Lowell expansion has more steam

So I'm definitely glad this idea is picking up steam once again. Even the fact that it's being discussed is a big step. Let's hope progress can be made regarding funding. However I'm wondering, with the Metra's Southeast Service line's recent backing by Gov. Quinn, what will the effect be on this South Shore expansion? Is it really feasible to have these lines just a few miles apart from each other?

Also, I understand that the current South Shore line competes with freight trains for the tracks it uses. However, will the same rail sharing apply for the portion of tracks between Kensington and Lowell?

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by svillechris

So I'm definitely glad this idea is picking up steam once again. Even the fact that it's being discussed is a big step. Let's hope progress can be made regarding funding. However I'm wondering, with the Metra's Southeast Service line's recent backing by Gov. Quinn, what will the effect be on this South Shore expansion? Is it really feasible to have these lines just a few miles apart from each other?

Also, I understand that the current South Shore line competes with freight trains for the tracks it uses. However, will the same rail sharing apply for the portion of tracks between Kensington and Lowell?

As far as feasibility, I don't really know. The line won't be that far from the Metra Electric line as well. And I believe the extension will also compete with freight (as well as Amtrak) but seeing as in Amtrak's service is very infrequent, it may not be that big of a problem. In addition to providing an alternative for Munster, Tri-town, and other residents to getting to Chicago, I am behind this extension because it will seriously enhance and promote redevlopment of the downtowns that we have (mainly Munster, Dyer, and Saint John).

Some people think it will promote sprawl (e.g., the line ends in Lowell so Demotte will boom in population)...Population growth is fine as long as it is what I call "smart growth" where people develop more closer to downtowns as opposed to just sprawling out...A good example of what I mean is towns like Hinsdale, La Grange, etc.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

Study: South Shore Lowell expansion has more steam

Had to chuckle in disgust at some of the reader comments.

[svillechris]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

As far as feasibility, I don't really know. The line won't be that far from the Metra Electric line as well. And I believe the extension will also compete with freight (as well as Amtrak) but seeing as in Amtrak's service is very infrequent, it may not be that big of a problem. In addition to providing an alternative for Munster, Tri-town, and other residents to getting to Chicago, I am behind this extension because it will seriously enhance and promote redevlopment of the downtowns that we have (mainly Munster, Dyer, and Saint John).

Some people think it will promote sprawl (e.g., the line ends in Lowell so Demotte will boom in population)...Population growth is fine as long as it is what I call "smart growth" where people develop more closer to downtowns as opposed to just sprawling out...A good example of what I mean is towns like Hinsdale, La Grange, etc.

Yeah, and honestly, if you had to pick one of the two lines (either this South Shore extention or the Metra's Southeast Service line) that were more likely to be created, I'd think most would agree that the SES is the favorite, correct?

Also, if this South Shore extention does move forward, I would think that there's a real possibility of stopping the train at the Dyer station, instead of going all the way to Lowell. Take a look at this quote from the article in the Post Trib:

"Also estimated was the operating cost for a 29-mile Chicago-to-Munster/Dyer line of $14 million per year with a capital cost of $464,447,181 and an annual deficit of $9.8 million. The total annual debt service and deficit for NICTD would be $38,604,000 for Chicago to Lowell and $26,090,672 for Chicago to Munster/Dyer.

Parsons said ridership modeling yielded 5,270 inbound weekday riders for Lowell to Chicago and 4,510 for Munster/Dyer to Chicago."



So the phase from Dyer out to Lowell will only add 760 more riders, but cost another $12.6 million? Doesn't seem to make sense to go out that far. My quick math tells me that the Munster/Dyer leg costs $5,785 per rider and the Dyer to Lowell section costs ~$16,500 per rider. From a cost/benefit analysis standpoint, it would make sense to have the Chicago to Dyer phase and stop at Dyer.


Article:
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/4507626-418/nictd-updates-westlake-corridor-study.html