By PAULENE POPARAD

June marked the 11th consecutive month of record highs and the single highest monthly total South Shore ridership in the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District’s history with 378,466 passengers.

NICTD officials said the railroad is on track to carry 4 million people this year.

With standing-room-only on several rush-hour trains, delivery of 12 new passenger cars is planned but still not finalized. Nevertheless, NICTD on Friday authorized the acquisition of land in Michigan City to make room to park them when the cars arrive in approximately 24 months.

NICTD, which owns and operates the public South Bend-to-Chicago railroad, voted to pay $50,000 to LaPorte County for seven acres formerly owned by Royal Metals.

Two appraisers were appointed on NICTD’s behalf as required by law to establish a fair-market value, but NICTD board member Mark Yagelski of LaPorte County said the asking price is a bargain and he thanked the county and Michigan City for their efforts in making the land available.

NICTD general manager Gerald Hanas said the triangular parcel is one-quarter mile northeast of the current South Shore maintenance facility on Roeske Avenue.

The railroad parks its 68-car fleet at the Michigan City shops around its material storage yard but because of wetlands can’t expand there.

Hanas said the former Royal Metals industrial site has been remediated, has rail access to it and is ready for reuse.

NICTD has applied for a $31.2 million federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality grant to buy the South Shore’s first double-decker commuter cars. The 20 percent local share of $7.8 million is being requested from the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.

Hanas said neither grant has been awarded but NICTD’s hoping for favorable consideration soon. As for the RDA grant, NICTD directors voted to hire Policy Analytics, LLC for $71,000 to prepare a cost/benefit analysis for the rail-car purchase.

Policy Analytics will be expanding its previous needs analysis and economic-impact study done for the South Shore’s proposed West Lake expansion from Hammond to Lowell and/or Valparaiso. NICTD Chairman David Neizgodski of St. Joseph County said if the railroad is hoping to be awarded $40 million in grants, paying $71,000 to accomplish that is reasonable.

NICTD’s train order would be added to the current cars being built for the Illinois Metra system, which controls the key Kensington interlocking where South Shore trains can be delayed enroute to Chicago.

Friday, the NICTD board entered into a $360,000 supplemental agreement to the existing contract with Edwards & Kelcey Consulting Engineers for a completed design and construction management of a South Shore bypass through Kensington. Edwards & Kelcey was engaged in 2003 to improve capacity through Kensington to enable NICTD to operate additional rush-hour trains.

The consulting firm also was authorized Friday to receive a $625,000 increase to a second contract to complete design review and provide construction-related services for the South Shore’s ongoing catenary/signal upgrade projects.

In August the first phase of the new computerized traffic control (CTC) will become operational west of Gary allowing formerly one-way tracks to be used in both directions and trains seamlessly to go around construction crews, said Hanas. “It’ll be a huge benefit to us.”

Instead of crews de-boarding and manually throwing switches, computer messages will be sent via fiber-optic lines from the new Michigan City CTC center to switch tracks.

Dwell time also will be saved when the new partially canopied high-level boarding platforms are completed at Hegewisch station, the South Shore’s busiest stop. A temporary platform is in use so the old 800-foot, ground-level platform that causes delays by having passengers step up to board can be replaced. The Hegewisch riders are a little disgruntled, said Hanas, but “for the most part it’s working.”

The South Shore carried almost 20,000 passengers a day or about 5,000 more than usual during the recent Taste of Chicago, said NICTD marketing director John Parsons, placing an even larger burden on the fleet.

With the Dan Ryan Expressway and the Skyway both under reconstruction in Chicago and gasoline hovering at or near $3 per gallon in the region, Parsons said total 2006 NICTD ridership is up 13 percent year-to-date having carried 2,025,887 passengers through June.

Average 2006 weekday ridership is up 12.3 percent boosted by a nearly 20 percent jump in off-peak ridership and a 21 percent increase in weekend/holiday passengers.

The surge also continues in passengers boarding from the Michiana Regional Airport in South Bend with 18.6 percent more riders over the last 12 months.

More summer festivals are slated in Chicago to attract local commuters, said Parsons, and Penn State, Stanford, North Carolina and UCLA all have reserved special trains from Chicago to Notre Dame home football games in South Bend. UCLA has reserved 14 train cars. Parsons said it’s unknown how many Fighting Irish fans from Illinois will ride the South Shore rather than drive to South Bend this year.

Free shuttle service will be provided Saturday and Sunday from Dune Park Station on U.S. 12 to Hawthorne Park in Porter for the Chesterton Art Fair there, according to Parsons. “It’s a mutual benefit for both of us.”

In other business Friday, NICTD authorized staff to enter into a $652,000 contract with low bidder Superior Construction Co. Inc. of Gary for bridge repairs at 149th and 150th streets in Hammond. Hanas said while structurally sound, the bridges are parallel to the Indiana Toll Road and salt spray in winter is eroding some portions.

A second bid to install air-conditioning systems in the seventeen 1992 South Shore cars undergoing a midlife rehabilitation was awarded to Transitair Systems of New York, the only bidder, for $197,000.

Posted 8/6/2006