South Shore RR looking to expand exponentially

Trains Magazine General Discussion
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Study: Extending South Shore commuter line would create jobs

June 25, 2006 (CHESTERTON, Ind.) - Extending the South Shore commuter rail line to two more communities would allow residents easier access to companies around Chicago and could create 7,000 jobs in northwestern Indiana over 25 years, according to a study commissioned by the railroad operator.

The jobs could increase disposable personal income by $600 million, the study released last week said.

Extensions to Valparaiso and Lowell would provide access to “high-paying jobs within Cook County,” where earnings per job are 32 percent higher than in northwest Indiana, the study by Policy Analytics LLC, of Indianapolis, said.

“There is just a huge financial payoff to greater connectivity to the Chicago downtown,” said William Sheldrake, president of Policy Analytics.

The South Bend-to-Chicago commuter line carried 3.8 million passengers in 2005, a 7.3 increase over 2004. Ridership this year has also increased, officials said.

Copies of the report have been sent to Gov. Mitch Daniels and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, the South Shore’s operator.

The rail project could take a decade to complete and cost more than $300 million, according to earlier estimates.

Earlier studies have also shown large economic benefits for the region in extending the South Shore. A study commissioned by NICTD and published in December 2000 forecast $130.2 million to $139.8 million per year in new consumer spending would be generated by extending the rail lines.

A key difference between the Policy Analytics survey and others is that it forecasts much more rapid population growth for northwest Indiana, Sheldrake said.

Historically, there has been slower population growth in Cook County and northwest Indiana than in the remainder of the greater Chicago area, according to the study. In northwest Indiana, about 63,000 peo

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Exponentially? Gadzooks! Soon they will cover the entire planet. Soon we will have rails to the other planets (although orbital mechanics might make that a bit difficult).

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Wait a minute!! Is not the popluation dropping in the Rust Belt?? and the Industrial “THE REGION” Indiana is dropping? The pop growth is not in the yuppie white commuters who ride the trains its in the Working poor Black and Hispanics that ride the buses. Improve the Busses and Insttute commuter bus service linking the South Shore to Valprasio First.

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And the source of the information upon which you base your opinion is _____?

Here are some facts:

New numbers add to urgency of extending South Shore service

The push for the extension of commuter rail service to Lowell and Valparaiso gained additional ammunition last week with the release of a new study saying the benefits look even better than first thought.

That’s welcome news.

The study shows the population of Northwest Indiana is increasing faster than a previous study said. That will be important as the project competes for federal funding.

There are more than 120 commuter rail projects across the nation competing for federal funds. It’s going to be a battle to get funding, but the potential payoff is worth it.

The new report by PolicyAnalytics, for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, shows Northwest Indiana’s population could increase by 160,000, or 14.8 percent, by 2030. That’s about twice the rate of growth the area has seen in recent decades.

Extending the South Shore rail service to Lowell and Valparaiso would cost about $350 million.

Doing so would increase access to high-paying jobs in Chicago, where salaries can be much higher than in Northwest Indiana.

Analyst William Sheldrake’s wage comparison showed manufacturing was the only sector for which salaries were higher in Northwest Indiana than Chicago. And in some cases, Chicago salaries were more than twice as high.

Putting it another way,

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Just need to copy the trains in Galaxy Express 999.[:o)]
(Japanese comic book from Leiji Matsumoto)

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I live in Valparaiso…and am not exactly sure what our friend from New York is basing his findings on, but just about every corn field north of US 30 is turning into cul de sac nation.

Soon we will be Naperville east.

I talked with the mayor of Valpo a couple of months ago and he seemed to think the South Shore extention was a sure thing and that it would be electric. I asked “where will the tracks be?” to which he stated the Rail America line (CFE, ex PRR mainline).

I am not sure CSX, who owns the line would be interested in having electric catenary placed on it’s line. Would that not restrict stack trains? or am I mistaken?

I am not sure exactly how many jobs are downtown Chicago these days. There are lots of traders, but for the most part corporations have left downtown. Ad agencies, banks, etc. are there…of course those are jobs too!

ed

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Not really. But soon you will wish you were Naperville east, my friend.

A better description today would be “Oswego/Yorkville/Plano/Sandwich/Sugar Grove east.” Fortunately – and this comes firsthand – all of the traffic flow infrastructure in Naperville finally has been completed, after about 12 years of the pain in the patoot of constant roadwork, dust, detours and delays.

The fun in NE Indiana is just beginning.[:D]

Pop

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OH, My. What is Orville Reddenbacher going to do for popcorn?

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Mason County, Illinois is the popcorn capital of the world.

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They’re all going to have to live someplace:

www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060625/1002144.asp

Valpo might as well be a bedroom for downtown Chicago.

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Interesting comment, greyhounds. Within the next 10-15 years, Rockford, Kenosha and Kankakee will for all practical purposes be Chicago “suburbs.” They’re pretty close right now – those old corn and soybean plots are fillin’ up fast with ticky-tacky little boxes and stark, look-alike industrial parks…

Metra already serves Antioch, Elburn and soon Manhattan. Those places used to be in the middle of nowhere. Heck, when I was a kid, Aurora was a faraway place, reached only by driving through miles of corn on two-lane roads west of Route 45.

Pop

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Valpo definitely is a commutable distance and a lot closer than Rockford which is in decline as is Freeport. The only route into Chitown from that direction is I-90 which is a nightmare at rush hour. To live in ROckford and commute into Chicago would be a minimum three hour trip each way. The only way that is ever going to be a bedroom community is with public transportation. My understanding on the South Shore is it will utilze the old Monon route from the existing right of way through Hammond and then make some kind of turn to get to Valpo. Valpo has been the darling of the Indiana burbs for about ten years now. Bigger lots and houses at semireasonable prices. I guess the PRR was sixty year ahead of the times with its commuter trains to Valpo pulled by E6s atlantics

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Well, with the election upcoming, among many, many other things, Illinois Gov. Rodney Blagoblab has promised Amtrak service connecting Rockford with Downtown Windy. But like with most of his promised giveaways, no one knows where the funding will come from. His hedge is that he’s also wanting Wisconsin to pony up some major ca***o stretch the route to Janesville — or even Madison, which has no commuter train service.

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So Indiana gets service it might not need, but Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin gets politicing and a money pit bus service that won’t link the city to anything, great.

Cheers!
~METRO

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Valpo is definitely within commuting distance of Chicago. 50 years ago the Pennsy ran a limited commuter service from there to Union Station (2 IIRC morning and evening rush hour trains). The population growth in the intervening years would definitely justify the proposed service.

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There was an article not too long ago begging for commuter service to Berrien County, Michigan, with the claim that New Buffalo is closer to Chicago than Harvard (the end of Metra’s UP-Northwest line) is. That would require the cooperation of three states, not two.

As for Valpo and Lowell, I’m pretty sure the new operations would be diesel powered, at least initially. I had visualized (and I think I read somewhere) that the line would go from Kensington via the old Michigan Central line to Hammond, then use the old Monon right-of-way to Munster (Maynard, actually), where it would follow CN’s ex-GTW tracks to Valpo. The line to Lowell would continue along the old Monon line.

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News for you…Valpo already is a Chicago bedroom community. It started about 15 years ago when all the Volvo’s, BMW’s, and Mercedes started showing up. Then we noticed the advent of the McMansions on the outskirt of town.

I moved here in 1977 and at the time, Conrail ran two “dummies” to Chicago, leaving at 6am and 620am and returning about 630pm and 7pm. The trains had pretty decent ridership. People have always lived out here and commuted in. The trains went away about 1990. About that time I began a sales career, which was based mainly in the Chicago area. So for the past 15 years I have witnessed how the “ease” of the commute downtown has turned into a nightmare, with the Skyway and Dan Ryan construction. For me it is not as bad since I dont have to be at an office by say 8am or stay til 5pm. I schedule appointments and deal with the traffic.

It makes sense to have diesel powered trains, but the Mayor was certain it was to be electric…time will tell. The CSX route (Monon) to Lowell would be perfect as would the CFE (CSX) to Valpo. Gary Airport (oops, make that Chicago - Gary Airport) is right in the middle of things and would be an excellent choice, except that it is in the WRONG STATE! No benefits King Richard or Blago could dish out to their buddies or private truck company friends (see, even us Hoosiers read the papers).

I am you are correct about wishing to be Naperville East. The local traffic this summer is as bad as I have ever seen it. It is nearly impossible to get around the county and then when we get out, we must deal with Skyway, Dan Ryan, 294/394, and everything else that is on the corporate and union welfare nipple.

Just venting as I have to go to the city tomorrow! At least I will get a great hot dog for lunch, or perhaps a Beef, hot and wet!

ed

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That would be NW Indiana, not NE.

Isn’t the CSX lease to RailAmerica (CF&E) for twenty-five years? I doubt that the CF&E will be running too many stack trains now or in the future but I, too, wonder what CSX would say about cantenary.

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You sure got that right! Those (very accurately described) houses are appearing around here like mushrooms after a rain. Of course, the city does nothing to improve the roads, so all of these F.I.B.s are being jammed on to our already way-over-capacity roads.

Unfortunately, they have also brought their “Illinois” attitude with them as well.

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And what, per say, is an “Illinoins” attitude?

Bert