With trains now running on the new Monon Corridor route, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District is still working on major projects.
The Metra Track 4 project to add an extra track into Millennium Station on the Metra system is expected to be finished next March, President and General Manager David Dech told the NICTD board Monday.
The $200 million project would be the largest single construction project in the South Shore Line’s history, were it not for the construction of the eight-mile Monon Corridor and the Double Track NWI project between Gary and Michigan City.
The Metra Track 4 project alleviates a bottleneck for the South Shore, reducing the need to wait for Metra trains to clear the tracks for South Shore Line trains to go through.
Dech, just two weeks into the job following Mike Noland’s retirement, is scheduled to meet with Metra officials on Friday, he said.
The NICTD board is also working on a station relocation at the South Bend Airport.
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Moving from the west side to the east side would allow the railroad to eliminate about 18 at-grade crossings, Dech said, so that could make the project competitive for a federal grant program aimed at reducing the number of crossings.
The railroad will pursue other federal dollars, too, now that the local match for the $112 million project has been lined up.
The NICTD board approved a $795,000 amendment to the December 2022 alignment for changes through the end of 2025.
NICTD board member Carl Baxmeyer said it was a long time coming. “This was a 30-month process to get that agreement finalized.”
“It was the best thing for the community. It was the best thing for the railroad. It shouldn’t have been that long of a discussion,” he said.
For the new Monon Corridor, one of the transformers on the new route still needs to be replaced. The new one was to have been shipped Tuesday.
Because of all the extra trains the new route requires, the board approved spending nearly $955,000 on spare parts. Tariffs added to the cost, Director of Procurement Tony Siegmund said.
Ridership for St. Patrick’s Day was down from last year’s record total, but Director of Strategic Planning and Grants Kelly Wenger said that was a matter of the calendar, not interest. “We always have phenomenal ridership when the holiday itself falls on a weekend or adjacent.”
“We’ll take them whenever we can get them. It was still phenomenal ridership,” she said.
Ridership was below last year in January and February. “Weather is a major factor,” Wenger said. One Friday, the railroad had to run a weekend schedule because it was so cold.
“I’m really excited to see what that Monon Corridor will do for ridership,” she said.
The South Shore Line doesn’t have a count by station, she said. A lot of the rail cars still need counters added.
Wenger is amazed by the number of bike riders who take their bikes on the train even in winter. “Challenge us every day, because these numbers are phenomenal.”
She expects the number of bikes on trains to top 10,000 this year.
In November, 799 riders brought bikes on trains, compared to 527 in 2024. For December, it was 349; January, 350, and February, 439. That’s despite this one being a colder winter.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.