The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois and the South Bend International Airport in South Bend, Indiana, United States. The name refers to both the physical line and the service operated over that route. The line was built in 1901–1908 by predecessors of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, which continues to operate freight service. Passenger operation was assumed by the NICTD in 1989, who also purchased the track in 1990. The South Shore Line is one of the last surviving interurban trains in the United States. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,406,900, or about 5,400 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
The Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, also known as the South Shore Line, is a Class III freight railroad operating between Chicago, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana. The railroad serves as a link between Class I railroads and local industries in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana. It built the South Shore Line electric interurban and operated it until 1990, when the South Shore transferred its passenger operations to the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. The freight railroad is owned by the Anacostia Rail Holdings Company.
Central Station was an intercity passenger terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, at the southern end of Grant Park near Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue. Owned by the Illinois Central Railroad, it also served other companies via trackage rights. It opened in 1893, replacing Great Central Station, and closed in 1972 when Amtrak rerouted services to Union Station. The station building was demolished in 1974. It is now the site of a redevelopment called Central Station, Chicago.
The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, also known as the North Shore Line, was an interurban railroad that operated passenger and freight service over an 88.9-mile (143.1 km) route between the Chicago Loop and downtown Milwaukee, as well as an 8.6-mile (13.8 km) branch line between the villages of Lake Bluff and Mundelein, Illinois. The North Shore Line also provided streetcar, city bus and motor coach services along its interurban route.
Michigan City station was a train station in Michigan City, Indiana served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. It was served by two eastbound and one westbound Wolverine train at the time of closure; other Wolverine and Blue Water trains did not stop. The station had a platform shelter near the former prairie-style Michigan Central Railroad depot dating from 1915, which is now a local restaurant. That earlier station served Michigan Central Railroad, and later, New York Central passenger trains. Major NYC named trains passing through the station included the Canadian, the Chicago Mercury and the Wolverine.
South Bend is a train station in South Bend, Indiana. It is served by Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited between Chicago, Boston and New York City, and Capitol Limited between Chicago and Washington, D.C. The station was built by the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad in 1970; South Shore Line trains continued to use it until 1992.
Waterloo station is an Amtrak train station in Waterloo, Indiana. Waterloo is a small town of under 2,500 people; the station primarily serves the vastly larger population of Fort Wayne, which is some 25 miles (40 km) to the south. The station opened in 1990; in 2016, the former New York Central Railroad station building was moved and reopened for passenger use. The station has a waiting room and restroom facilities; it is open for only short periods before trains arrive.
Beverly Shores is a train station in Beverly Shores, Indiana, served by the South Shore Line interurban commuter railroad. The station serves the town of Beverly Shores as well as the nearby Town of Pines. It is a flag stop.
Portage/Ogden Dunes is a station in Porter County, Indiana serving the municipalities of Portage, Indiana and Ogden Dunes, Indiana. It is used by South Shore Line trains. Ogden Dunes is a semi-gated community with one major access road off of U.S. Highway 12, and the station is located adjacent to where this road accesses the community. The station also serves a Marina Shores subdivision in Portage. Portage/Ogden Dunes station is close to the Inland Marsh and West Beach units of the Indiana Dunes National Park.
Miller is a train station in Gary, Indiana, serving the South Shore Line commuter rail system. It serves the community of Miller Beach and is one of three South Shore Line stations within the municipal boundaries of Gary.
Gary Metro Center is a multimodal commuter hub operated by the Gary Public Transportation Corporation. It was built in 1984 as an elevated replacement of the previously ground-level Broadway Street station. Named in honor of local US Representative Adam Benjamin, Jr., who died in 1982, it serves as the central bus terminal and the Downtown Gary station on the South Shore Line. It also serves as a stop for Greyhound Lines and other intercity bus systems.
Hudson Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hudson Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. The town sits on the dividing line between Central and Eastern time zones. It is the site of the Hudson Lake station stop of the South Shore Line. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 1,297.
Michigan City/11th Street station is a train station in the central city neighborhood of Michigan City, Indiana. It serves the South Shore Line commuter rail line and is one of two active stations in Michigan City, the other being Carroll Avenue station. It is located adjacent to the location of the historic 11th Street station of the former Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad station, which operated the station from 1927 until 1987. Prior to the May 2021 closure, the station was composed of a passenger shelter and a sign on the northwest corner of East 11th Street and Pine Street; boarding and alighting was done from the street itself. A more modern station with two tracks and high-level platforms opened in October 2023.
East Chicago is a train station at 5615 Indianapolis Boulevard in East Chicago, Indiana. It serves the South Shore Line commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois to South Bend, Indiana.
The South Bend Public Transportation Corporation is a municipal bus system that serves the cities of South Bend and Mishawaka, as well as the nearby suburbs of Notre Dame and Roseland, in the very north of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the most recent incarnation of the South Bend Railway Company, a street railway company that was founded on May 25, 1885. Transpo receives funding from local, state and federal taxes. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,262,400, or about 5,100 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
New Carlisle was a South Shore Line flag stop located at the corner of Arch and Zigler Streets in New Carlisle, Indiana. The station opened c. 1908 and was built by the Chicago, South Bend and Northern Indiana Railway whose line was immediately north of the South Shore Line. Both lines used the station until the Northern Indiana Railway abandoned its South Bend–Michigan City line leaving the South Shore as the sole occupant. The station remained in service on the South Shore Line until July 5, 1994, when it was closed as part of an NICTD service revision which also saw the closure of Ambridge, Kemil Road, Willard Avenue, LaLumiere, and Rolling Prairie.
Dune Acres was a South Shore Line flag stop located at Mineral Springs Road serving Dune Acres in Porter County, Indiana. The station opened prior to 1910, and it was originally known as Mineral Springs Road. The station closed in 1994, as part of an NICTD service revision which also saw the closure of Ambridge. Kemil Road, Willard Avenue, LaLumiere, Rolling Prairie, and New Carlisle. The station did not close on July 5, 1994, like the other stations, instead closing after parking was expanded at the Dune Park station.
Kemil Road was a South Shore Line flag stop located at the corner of Kemil Road and U.S. 12 in Porter County, Indiana. The stop was located at the eastern edge of the Indiana Dunes State Park. It was established in 1977 on the initiative of South Shore Recreation, a citizens group, and closed in 1994.
South Bend was the eastern terminus of the South Shore Line located at the corner of LaSalle Avenue and Michigan Street in downtown South Bend, Indiana. It opened in 1921 and closed in 1970, when the South Shore Line eliminated street running within South Bend.
Hammond Gateway station is a South Shore Line station in Hammond, Indiana. It is intended to serve as the interchange point to the Monon Corridor, which is expected to open to revenue service in 2025. Hammond Gateway station opened on October 18, 2024; the previous Hammond station, located nearby, was closed on the same day.
