SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District has reached an agreement that would allow it to build a new, shorter route into South Bend International Airport, a move that could cut up to 15 minutes off travel times for South Shore Line commuter trains serving the facility.
Inside Indiana Business reports that after almost three years of negotiations, the NICTD and airport authority have reached an agreement for an easement for a route to the airport’s west side, replacing the current, circuitous path to a station on the east side of the airport terminal. The rail agency would acquire the easement through an appraisal process; the move will also require aprpoival of the Federal Aviation Administration. NICTD will also pay the airport $25,000 per year to use some of its terminal space as a waiting room. Until the move is complete, NICTD will pay the airport $75,000 a year to continue running on the current route.
The agreement runs for 50 years with options for two 25-year extensions. It also allows the airport to relocate the South Shore waiting area if service drops below 14 trains a week. Currently, the South Shore operates six round trips daily between the airport and Chicago.
Two years ago, the project was estimated to cost $50 million to $75 million [see “Plan to move South Shore station …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 2, 2022]. NICTD President Mike Noland told a board meeting last week that the project faced some funding urgency: “There’s still money left in the current Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the current Surface Transportation Act,” he said. “We can’t wait anymore. If we’re going to fund this project, now is the time to go after those federal dollars.”
More information on the project is available here.
The airport route was a compromise. It was an industrial lead that served the Bendix plant and a limestone quarry. The City of South Bend built a business park on the other side of Bendix Ave and extended the line to the airport from the east. But in doing so it crossed 3 key obstructions.
Lincoln-Way, Bendix Ave and the Bendix-Honeywell plant parking lot.
All of the spurs into the business park and quarry have been removed, so really the line is simply a traffic obstruction with no paying freight involved.
The Oak Road ROW is currently a tree lined dirt road with 2 houses and a garage facing it. Access can be easily maintained after the rails are installed. Building a bridge over Lincoln-Way will be critical to keep from stopping traffic.
Wonderful. Now, call me crazy but, how about South Shore service that actually goes to SOUTH BEND?
They are working on a plan to extend the final stop next to the baseball stadium downtown.
For public transportation to work at an airport, there must be frequent trains (or buses) from early morning until late in the evening. It’s not possible to time a connection from an arriving flight to a departing train. To simplify, subway-like schedules work really well, Amtrak or commuter rail schedules not at all.
Public transportation works at ORD Chicago O’Hare, BOS Boston Logan, DEN Denver, and other airports.
On the other hand, the “airport stations” at MKE Milwaukee General Mitchell and PVD Rhode Island T. F. Green are located near airports but have little or nothing to do with either airport workers or airline passengers.
SEPTA uses commuter rail to the Philadelphia Airport with a 30 minute street daily. Most riders seem to work at the airport but there is a good amount of passengers. There’s a RR platform for EACH terminal; no shuttle bus.
How about AMTK/MARC service to Baltimore’s BWI Marshall? Those trains feed shuttle buses to that terminal. A branch of the BaltimoreLink light rail terminates at BWI as well.
They’d better hustle and get that money. This is to actually improve passenger transportation, not to enrich Beltway Bandits outside DC.