Chicago to Notre Dame Football game, travel by train? (rental car, rental)

[mr aztec]

Hello all, about 10 of us will be attending a ND football game in the fall. Is there a train I can look into that would be convenient?

[SloopyJ]

There is a train that goes from Chicago to South Bend, but I don't know anyone that really uses it to get to ND for games. The schedule is not frequent enough make the return trip convenient, IMO, and the train goes to downtown South Bend, not ND. There may be a bus that goes from the train station to campus, I'm not sure, otherwise you can always get a cab at the train station.

It's a perfectly safe and convenient ride - I used to ride it to get to campus when I was a student - but it would probably be more convenient (and flexible) to rent a big van or a couple cars to make the trip.

The line is Metra's South Shore Line, but I don't think the schedule is on Metra's page. Instead it's here:

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (http://www.nictd.com/service/schedules.htm - broken link)

[Drover]

The South Shore train (referred to by SloopyJ) does go to South Bend, and there is a shuttle from the South Bend airport (where the train stops) to the stadium on game days. As for the schedule being "not frequent enough to make the return trip convenient," there is a train from South Bend back to Chicago every two hours on weekends. Seems adequately convenient to me.

And while it's not that important, the South Shore train is not operated by Metra as Sloopy implies, so don't expect Metra to be of much help regarding information, ticketing, etc. Stick to the website he provides in his post.

[Drover]

How can I get from The Airport to Notre Dame Stadium on game days ?

There are cab companies servicing the airport which go directly to the campus. They can be located outside door "D" in the terminal building. The cost varies between the cab companies (the average is about $12 per person). Also, the Transpo City Bus provides a shuttle to the stadium and leaves the area by the South Shore Station at the airport at 11:20 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. The cost is $4.00 each way. The passenger must have $4.00 in exact change since the driver does not have any change.
There are also Rental Cars (http://www.sbnair.com/Passengers/RentalCars.php - broken link) available.

From South Bend Regional Airport (http://www.sbnair.com/Airport/FAQs.php - broken link) (second item)

[SloopyJ]

Good clarifications, Drover. Didn't the train used to stop in downtown South Bend rather than the airport? Did they move it? Not that it matters much to the OP.

Personal taste, I guess, but even an every-two-hour schedule seems kind of inconvenient to me. It's hard to know when the game will end, and it's nice to linger without time constraints. I guess the train would be a nice option if one were hoping to get tanked after the game, but if that's the case then correctly timing the train schedule seems a little challenging. And gas prices aren't really an issue when there are at minimum 5 people in the car at one time.

I just know I'd be really bummed if I missed a train and had to wait an hour or two for another one, particularly when the drive home can be done in less than two hours.

[Drover]

Well I didn't say anything about gas prices? I don't know if gas prices are an issue or not. The OP asked about whether there was a train that was convenient to ND football games, so that's the question I focused on answering.

I don't see why anyone would have to "rush" to meet a train. Two-hour intervals gives plenty of time to plan around yet without having to needlessly linger around all day. Train not coming right away? Fine, grab a burger and pint and relax with your crew. Another one will be along soon. To each their own I guess.

As far as I know the station has always been at the airport.