South Shore passengers are being notified of upcoming planned weekend service outages beginning late this month that will halt trains between South Bend and Gary.

Dune Park station north of Chesterton is among those affected.

Busing between stations will not be provided, and riders are encouraged to board at the East Chicago station on Indianapolis Boulevard or to make alternate travel plans.

The suspension of trains is necessary so old, brittle wires in the overhead electrical catenary system that powers the trains can be replaced in single-track territory, which leaves trains no ability to bypass work zones.

Train service will be suspended between South Bend and Gary Metro Center from 2:30 a.m. Saturday through 3 a.m. Monday on Aug. 29-31; Sept. 12-14; Sept. 26-28; Oct. 10-12; and Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

The South Shore carries an average of 5,000 passengers daily; half of them board east of Gary.

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District officials said Friday an aggressive advertising campaign is being launched encouraging passengers to “Change your route, not your plans.” A hotline will provide recorded information, and updates will be available at www.nictd.com.

NICTD board members encouraged staff to consider having live operators field calls on outage weekends as well.

Board member Mark Yagelski said several marketing avenues, even Twitter, should be used to inform passengers of the service outages.

NICTD marketing director John Parsons said outreach has been narrowed to the most effective ways of contacting passengers, however, some undoubtedly will be missed. And because the closure dates are dependent on weather, some affected weekends may change.

In addition to the five outages planned this year, six will be needed in 2010 between South Bend and Gary and 10 weekends in 2011 between South Bend and Dune Park.

NICTD’s overhead wire modernization program is part of an $18 million, three-year project that will replace over 100 miles of electrical conductor, some dating back to the 1920s. Failure of the catenary system is the leading cause of significant service disruptions and lengthy train delays, according to NICTD.

Phase 1 of the catenary upgrade between Gary and 115th Street in Chicago didn’t require extensive outages because much of the territory has double tracks.

Parsons said a new weekend South Shore schedule previously approved won’t go into effect as planned this summer due to the service disruptions. The schedule change tentatively is set for late November.

South Shore passengers between South Bend and Michigan City will be subject to shuttle busing Oct. 18 through Nov. 6 while four bridges and crossings in LaPorte County are serviced. Service will be provided but the busing will result in delays.

Year-to-date NICTD ridership is 1,888,672 through June 30 or a 7.8 percent drop over 2008. All categories of ridership --- average weekday, peak, off-peak and weekend/holidays --- declined this year as well, most blamed for job losses in Chicago and a sluggish economy.

In the coming months South Shore passengers will be able to purchase tickets from ATM-style vending machines at NICTD stations including Dune Park using credit/debit cards only.

A $371,977 bid from VenTek International of California was approved 7-0 Friday to provide 20 ticket vending machines similar to those used in parking garages.

According to NICTD, about $4 million annually in cash transactions are made onboard trains based on 760,000 individual ticket sales, money that’s subject to time-consuming audits. By using ticket machines to dispense one-way or multi-ride tickets instead, the machine vendor will be responsible for maintaining transaction details.

Two other bids were accepted for equipment with the goal of increasing productivity and reducing the possibility of injuries.

Racine Railroad Products of Wisconsin will supply a $193,209 anchor/spike reclaimer and a $174,088 tie plate inserter, both used for replacing approximately 10,000 rail ties per year. Staff said what now takes about 21 employees to do, three people will be able to complete.

NICTD board members Sylvia Graham of Porter County and Mark Yagelski of LaPorte County clarified no layoffs will result. Employees will be assigned to other maintenance work as needed.

On another matter, Ken Stevenson, owner of Classic Taxi in Schererville, asked permission to place information in South Shore stations for all available cabs that serve those areas. Board members agreed to the request.

Posted 8/3/2009