The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District approved three major actions at its meeting Friday.

The directors of the public agency that owns and operates the South Shore passenger service adopted a new weekend/holiday train schedule, likely to be implemented in August.

A new weekday schedule took effect late last month. The weekend change will replace the familiar two-hour memory schedule in place since 1991.

Also approved was entering into a memorandum of understanding with the city of Michigan City to move the South Shore tracks, now down the center of 10th and 11th streets, to the south side of those streets.

The $65 million project would require the railroad or city to acquire substantial property along the corridor and would include construction of double tracks and a modern, high-platform station and 800-vehicle parking lot, according to NICTD general manager Gerald Hanas.

The board’s third action was approving TranSystems of Schaumburg, IL at a cost not to exceed $200,000 to study the feasibility, costs and benefits of linking the Gary/Chicago Airport with the South Shore.

Currently the closest train connection is a flag stop one mile away.

Federal funds would finance the bulk of the study with the airport’s $40,000 local share to be sought from the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. NICTD’s TranSystems contract is contingent on RDA money being approved.

Regarding the planned schedule change, NICTD chief operating officer Joseph Black said it will reduce overcrowding by providing 12-16 train cars in a time slot that typically provided eight cars, and by allowing more time to load passengers en route.

The current memory schedule had to go, said Black. “In the 1 1/2 years I’ve been here we’ve tried to implement some novel, out-of-the-box things but it hasn’t worked.”

The railroad’s weekend/holiday on-time performance has declined from 85 percent to 53 percent since 2001 with 60 percent of all train delays since 2006 related to the memory schedule.

Black said the new schedule aims to improve reliability and eliminate the need for precision train meets that, if missed, result in delays for both directions.

Train engineer David Pranckus of United Transportation Union Local 1526 told NICTD directors the union opposes the schedule change and has suggested ways to adjust the memory schedule.

Vote to scrap it was 9-1 with NICTD board member Dennis Burke, a 34-year South Shore conductor who retired Friday, voting no. Burke has represented employees on the board for seven years.

NICTD board members LaPorte County Councilman Mark Yagelski and LaPorte County Commissioner Barbara Huston both supported the Michigan City realignment, which he said has been discussed since the 1960s.

Yagelski conceded there will be issues regarding property acquisition. “We’re trying to make this a marriage that works, not shove it down their throats. Tomorrow the road won’t be torn up.”

Huston cited the safety concerns over operating a railroad down the middle of city streets.

NICTD director of marketing John Parsons said the realignment will reduce the number of grade crossing from 34 to 17, and eliminate two severe curves enabling increased operating speeds to reduce transit time through the city by six minutes.

Last year new federal regulations set 2015 for railroads to implement enhanced safety systems to avoid collisions. With the South Shore rail embedded in the streets, said Parsons, positive train control won’t work.

At one time a northerly realignment was considered but Parsons said that estimate was in excess of $200 million because of a bridge over Trail Creek. Using the tracks to the south near Ames Field would cost about $65 million plus land acquisition, but that route proved difficult to maneuver train cars into NICTD’s maintenance yards.

Hanas and Parsons said the revamped 10th/11th Street route and a new station at Franklin and Wabash streets offers both NICTD and the city more development opportunities including capitalizing on the proximity of Lighthouse Place mall.

NICTD’s current smaller stations at 11th Street near Pine Avenue and at Carroll Avenue both would be closed.

Board member John Evans, Porter County Commissioner, asked if the realignment work could go on while trains were operating. Parsons said yes; in terms of phasing and costs the project could be spread over several years.

Parsons said the Gary/Chicago Airport study will analyze alternate ways of moving people between trains and planes. The Airport Authority has secured $1.7 million in federal funds through Sen. Evan Bayh that can’t be released for construction without Friday’s approved analysis.

To be studied are the feasibility, costs and benefits of linking the airport to either the East Chicago or Gary Metro stations or the existing airport flag stop.

If the latter is to be upgraded to a high-level boarding station, its capital/operational costs and the impact on the surrounding neighborhood will be determined.

The study will develop options for connectivity based on levels of airport plane activity. Parsons said the options could vary from shuttles, on-demand busing, fixed-route scheduled busing and automated people-mover facilities.

Also Friday, NICTD’s Boris Matakovic said the railroad is looking at switching to credit/debit card ticket vending machines rather than cash machines, which he said are prone to failure. Tickets also can be purchased online, at ticket windows and on the trains.

Hanas said the new doubledecker South Shore cars by all measures have been a success. All 14 are available for service as needed. While space for luggage is not as generous, overall riders seem to enjoy the new equipment, he added.

Parsons said the slumping economy finally is having an effect on weekend and off-peak ridership, previously growth areas.

Year-to-date through April shows a 7.2 percent decrease from 2008 in total passengers and drops of 6.6 percent and 4 percent, respectively, for off-peak and weekend/holiday ridership.

So far this year the South Shore has carried over 1.2 million passengers with the Chicago summer festivals soon kicking into high gear.

Posted 6/1/2009