Riders getting off the South Shore Line’s trains at East Chicago could have an easier time reaching the parking lot in a few years.
The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District has won a nearly $2.7 million federal grant to help build an additional access between the platform and the parking lot.
East Chicago is the South Shore Line’s busiest station, with up to 3,500 riders a day, but it has only one access between the elevated station platform and the lot. The stairs get particularly congested when people come home from work in Chicago.
“When everybody gets off the train, they want to be the first to their car,” NICTD General Manager Michael Noland said.
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Some East Chicago riders start queuing up for the exits before their eastbound trains reach Hegewisch and Hammond, which hinders people getting off at those stations, he said.
NICTD applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration for a $12 million project, hoping $5 million would come from federal funding.
The $2,698,028 grant was one of the largest grants from the $25 million the FRA allocated for safety projects, Noland said, “and we’re grateful for that.” He said U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, was instrumental in securing the grant.
Noland said NICTD will revise the project to fit the smaller grant and will re-submit it to the FRA for approval. He hopes construction could start in 2018.
The new access probably would be east of the current station, and the boarding platform would have to be extended east.
In addition to the FRA grant, NICTD also has money in its budget for capital projects, and money from a fare increase that went into effect in July is dedicated for projects.
Tim Zorn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.