MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — South Shore Line’s street-running in Michigan City, Ind., dates to 1908 and has long been a favorite of railfans. But as of February 28, 2022, it has essentially come to an end.
The South Shore is working to double-track its main line between Gary, Ind., and Michigan City. As part of that project, commuter trains have been replaced by buses between the Carroll Avenue station in Michigan City and the Dune Park station in Porter, Ind..
For the time being, freight operations will continue overnight. This is also when passenger equipment will be ferried between the shops in Michigan City and Dune Park, the endpoint for operations to and from Chicago. But it is no longer possible to ride a South Shore train down the street. By the time rail service resumes this fall, the vast majority of the street-running train will be no more.
Construction will see 11th Street, which includes the street running, converted to a one-way street. The rail line will be shifted out of the roadway.
Photographers flocked to Michigan City on the final days of regular operation. The impending change was obvious. Street signs had been posted showing detours for the closure of 11th Street. As trains ran on the final weekday of operations — Friday, Feb. 25 — they passed workers dropping “Road Closed” signs at most intersections along 11th Street.
The double-track project is adding about 25 miles of a second main. It will cut running time between Chicago and Michigan City from 1 hour, 40 minutes, to just 67 minutes, making commuting to Chicago a much more attractive option. The project is expected to cost more than $400 million and be completed in 2024. Trains.com was on hand on the 25th to shoot that final weekday of regular operation. We hope you enjoy this footage of that unique operation.
Read more about the South Shore Line in this Trains.com article. More on the Double Track project is available at this web page.
My youngest daughter rode the last Saturday train from Chicago to Carroll Ave and I drove her to Dune Park to catch the train back on Monday. Heading back to Michigan, I decided to see what construction was occurring on 11th St. Absolutely nothing! There weren’t even any construction machinery anywhere near the tracks except the excavator used to demo the old station block. As mentioned, 11th St was closed to traffic while the streets crossing it still had red traffic lights to allow the non existent traffic on 11th to have a green light. The whole thing seems designed for the maximum inconvenience to the public. There were several structures still needing to be demolished prior to construction to start on the new trackage so the need to close 11th is not in the immediate future. There were spots of construction along the RofW between Dune Park and Michigan City so the termination of passenger service is understandable to open up work windows for construction.