South Shore Line | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Locale | Chicago, Illinois to South Bend, Indiana |
Termini | |
Stations | 19 |
Website | mysouthshoreline.com |
Service | |
Type | Commuter rail, Interurban |
Services | 1 |
Operator(s) | Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District |
Daily ridership | 5,400 (weekdays, Q2 2024) [1] |
Ridership | 1,406,900 (2023) [2] |
History | |
Opened | 1903 |
Technical | |
Line length | 90 miles (140 km) |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Electrification | Overhead line, 1,500 V DC |
The South Shore Line( reporting mark NICD) 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.
Departing South Bend Airport, the South Shore Line heads south alongside Bendix Drive, then west along Westmoor Street, before connecting with the tracks that ran to its former terminus. Between that point and Hudson Lake, Indiana, the South Shore Line runs parallel to Norfolk Southern's Chicago Rail Line, also used by Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited , on the north side of the tracks. Just before Hudson Lake, the line crosses from St. Joseph County into LaPorte County and enters the Central Time Zone.
From Hudson Lake, the South Shore continues straight west to Michigan City. In Michigan City, the track runs parallel to 11th Street from Michigan Boulevard to Tennessee Street, where it crosses over to Tenth Street. There, the railroad has an at-grade diamond with Amtrak's Michigan Services , after which it runs until Sheridan Avenue on the west side of Michigan City, Leaving Michigan City, the track travels through Indiana Dunes State Park, crosses over the Chicago Line and runs parallel to it, this time on the south side, past Long Lake. At Gary, Indiana, the route heads west to service the Gary Airport, at times running parallel to the Indiana Toll Road, as far as Hammond, Indiana. Just west of Hammond Gateway station, the route crosses into Illinois and Chicago city limits, at which point the track curves northwest, through the Hegewisch neighborhood and, after crossing the Bishop Ford Freeway and the Calumet River, converges with the Metra Electric line south of Kensington/115th Street station. The South Shore Line then runs over the Metra Electric from Kensington/115th Street the rest of the way to Millennium Station.
The line is quadruple tracked along the section shared with the Metra Electric line from Millennium Station to Kensington/115th Street, double-tracked from Kensington/115th Street to the yard at Michigan City, and single-tracked from there to South Bend Airport.
The most recent service update was on August 20, 2024, when NICTD published an updated schedule incorporating passenger feedback regarding new double-track service. [3]
In the westbound direction, 26 trains terminate at Millennium Station. Six of these trips run the whole length of the line from South Bend Airport, while all other trips originate at other stops in Michigan City and Gary (8 trains from Carroll Avenue, 5 trains from 11th Street, and 7 trains from Miller). Some trips are "express" and do not make certain station stops; while mainly concentrated in the morning peak, some trips in the afternoon are also express.
In the eastbound direction, 27 trains originate at Millennium Station. Six trains continue all the way to South Bend Airport, while 6 trains terminate at Miller and the remainder terminate at either Carroll Avenue or 11th Street.
In addition to service at Millennium Station, there are three trains that run only between Carroll Avenue and South Bend Airport, with eastbound service in the early morning and westbound service in the late evening.
On weekends and holidays, there are nine trains to and from Millennium Station. In the westbound direction, four trains originate at Carroll Avenue while all others originate at South Bend Airport; however, in the eastbound direction, all but three trains terminate at South Bend Airport.
Additionally, three shuttle trains run between Carroll Avenue and South Bend Airport in the westbound direction, but only two trains are scheduled for eastbound service. [4]
The South Shore Line was constructed between 1901 and 1908 by the Chicago and Indiana Air Line Railway (reorganized as the Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway [CLS&SB] in 1904). Revenue service between Michigan City and South Bend began on July 1, 1908. [5] The CLS&SB leased the Kensington and Eastern Railroad on April 4, 1909, giving it access to Chicago. That year the full line to Kensington on the Illinois Central was completed, and beginning on June 2, 1912, the electric cars were coupled to IC steam locomotives and run to downtown Chicago. [6]
The Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend entered bankruptcy in 1925 and was bought by Samuel Insull's Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (CSS&SB). [7] The line continued to handle both freight and passengers. Under Insull, the CSS&SB embarked on a major rehabilitation program. This included new ballast and ties, 100-pound (45 kg) rail in place of 70-pound (32 kg) rail, brush clearance, and an overhaul of the line's block signals. [8] In 1949, the company acquired three Little Joe electric locomotives for freight service. These locomotives had originally been constructed for the Soviet Union, but changing attitudes due to the Cold War prevented them from being delivered. Although the exact same type as the Milwaukee Joes, the South Shore bought them before the Milwaukee did. These locomotives continued in freight service on the CSS&SB until 1983. No. 803, is preserved in operating condition at the Illinois Railway Museum.
The power system was changed from 6600 volts AC to 1500 volts DC on July 28, 1926, allowing trains to operate directly to the Illinois Central Railroad's Randolph Street Terminal (now Millennium Station) without an engine change. Trains began running to Randolph Street on August 29. [9] That same year, the original line between East Chicago and Indiana Harbor was abandoned. [6]
The Chicago South Shore and South Bend turned a profit during World War II due to the industrial nature of Northern Indiana. However, highway competition and suburban growth led to ridership declines. By the 1950s all interurban lines were seeing a decline in rail travel as automobile use increased. [10] On September 16, 1956, a street running section in East Chicago was removed with the building of a new alignment alongside the Indiana Toll Road. [11] A truncation to west of downtown South Bend removed street trackage in that city from July 1, 1970. [6]
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway acquired the CSS&SB on January 3, 1967 and continued the operation of passenger services. [12] The Chicago South Shore and South Bend was one of six railroads with long-distance passenger services to decline joining Amtrak in 1971 and in 1976, they asked the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to abandon passenger service. The ICC gave the state of Indiana a chance to reply and subsequently, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) was formed in 1977 to subsidize service.
In the late 1980s, the Chicago South Shore and South Bend went bankrupt and on December 29, 1989, passenger service was assumed by NICTD. [13] In December 1990, the track was sold to NICTD and freight service was taken over by the new Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, a subsidiary of short line operator Anacostia & Pacific. On November 21, 1992, the line's South Bend terminus moved from the Amtrak station to the airport. [14] On July 5, 1994, NICTD closed the Ambridge, Kemil Road, Willard Avenue, LaLumiere, Rolling Prairie, and New Carlisle flag stops. A seventh station, Dune Acres, closed around the same time once parking was expanded at nearby Dune Park. [15]
The railroad began a 3-year project in 2009 to replace all catenary on its line between Michigan City and Gary, some of which was nearly 90 years old. The project cost $18 million and caused service disruptions on weekends while new wires were strung. [16]
The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE), replaced a bridge on the South Shore Line across 130th Street, Torrence Avenue, and Norfolk Southern tracks in the Hegewisch neighborhood of Chicago as a part of a four-year project lasting from 2011 to 2015. [17] [18] The 2,350 ton bridge would be put in place in August 2012. [19]
In 2015 NICTD began an express service between South Bend and Chicago. Targeted at business travelers, the train makes just two intermediate stops: Dune Park and East Chicago. The total scheduled travel time is 1 hour 55 minutes, more than thirty minutes faster than existing services. [20]
In July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, NICTD implemented "mask optional cars" for riders choosing not to wear masks, as Indiana did not have a statewide mask mandate. [21] This received a controversial reception at the time, as it was alleged at the time to not help slow down the spread of the coronavirus disease, and the "mask optional" car was also the only car with bike racks. [22] [23] On November 14, 2020, the "mask optional cars" were discontinued, requiring all passengers to wear a mask. [24] [25]
South Shore Line | |
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In service | 1982–present |
Manufacturer | Nippon Sharyo |
Constructed | 1982–1983, 1992, 2001 |
Number built | 68 |
Formation | Married-pair |
Fleet numbers | 1–48, 201–210, 101–110 |
Capacity | 93 [26] |
Operators | CSS&SB, NICTD |
Lines served | South Shore Line |
Specifications | |
Car body construction | stainless steel |
Car length | 85 ft (25.91 m) [26] |
Width | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) [26] |
Height | 15 ft 11 in (4.85 m) [26] |
Wheel diameter | 36 in (914 mm) [26] |
Wheelbase | 8 ft 2+1⁄2 in (2.502 m) [26] |
Maximum speed | 79 mph (127 km/h) [26] |
Weight | 118,000 lb (54,000 kg) [26] (empty) |
Traction system | IGBT-VVVF (Toshiba) [27] |
Traction motors | 3-phase AC induction motor (Toshiba) [27] |
HVAC | Electric heating, Air conditioning |
Electric system(s) | Overhead line, 1,500 V DC |
Current collector(s) | Pantograph |
UIC classification | Bo’Bo’+Bo’Bo’ |
AAR wheel arrangement | B-B+B-B |
Bogies | ND-312 [26] |
Coupling system | Tomlinson |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The South Shore Line operates with a fleet of 82 rail cars built between 1982 and 2009 by Nippon Sharyo. The fleet consists of 58 single-level self-propelled cars, 10 single-level unpowered trailers, and 14 bilevel self-propelled cars. [28] The single level fleet's design shares commonalities with MARC's locomotive-hauled MARC II fleet, which were also built by Nippon Sharyo. [29] An additional 26 cars are planned to be acquired, replacing those to be transferred to West Lake Corridor services. [30] Several Highliner 2s from Metra Electric have already been acquired. [31]
Numbers | Model | Built | Builder | notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1–48 | Single-level electric multiple unit | 1982–83, 1992 | Nippon Sharyo | |
201–210 | Trailer | 1992 | ||
101–110 | Single-level electric multiple unit | 2001 | ||
301–314 | Highliner II | 2009 | ||
1201–1226 | Highliner II | 2005–2006 | Ex Metra Electric |
Pullman and the Standard Steel Car Company delivered electric multiple units to the CSS&SB between 1926 and 1929. Many were lengthened in the 1940s and 1950s. [32]
Numbers | Model | Built | Builder | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1–11 | 62-seat coach | 1908 | Niles | Two cars scrapped prior to 1923; the remainder scrapped in 1929 [33] |
12–15 | Built as trailers. Rebuilt in 1915 with motors. Baggage compartments added in 1925. Scrapped in summer of 1929. [33] | |||
60–61 | 48-seat suburban car | Kuhlman | 60 wrecked prior to 1918. 61 scrapped in 1927 [33] | |
62–63 | 1903 | Brill | Originally Chicago and Indiana Air Line Railway cars 1 and 2 [33] | |
64 | 1918 | Kuhlman | Built as a replacement for car 60 [33] | |
70–71 | 54-seat coach | 1908 | Niles | 71 rebuilt as CSS&SB 401 in 1927. 70 used as a yard office and scrapped in 1935. [33] |
72–74 | 46-seat combine | Rebuilt with larger baggage compartments. 73 wrecked in 1909 and rebuilt to work motor 1126 in 1927; undergoing restoration. [34] 72 rebuilt to line car 1101 in 1927. 74 used as trainmen's room at South Bend and scrapped in 1941. [33] | ||
75–77 | 54-seat coach | Scrapped in summer of 1929 [33] | ||
101–110 | 52-seat coach | Kuhlman | Two cars rebuilt into CSS&SB 222 and 224 in 1927. The remainder were scrapped in 1929. [33] | |
111–112 | 60-seat open vestibule car | [ data missing ] | [ data missing ] | Purchased in 1917. Formerly AT&SF cars. [33] |
113–114 | 56-seat open vestibule car | [ data missing ] | [ data missing ] | |
1–10 | 56-seat coach smoker | 1926 | Pullman | |
11–15 | 80-seat coach | Lengthened in 1942–46 | ||
16–25 | 1927 | Lengthened in 1945–47 | ||
26–29 | 1929 | Standard Steel | Lengthened in 1948 | |
30–37; 39 | 48-seat coach smoker | |||
38 | 56-seat coach | |||
40 | 48-seat coach smoker | 1938 | Rebuilt from trailer no. 213 | |
100–109 | 64–68 seat coach–baggage | 1926 | Pullman | Lengthened in 1943–44 and modernized in 1949–50 |
110–111 | 64-seat coach–baggage | 1951 | Standard Steel | Rebuilt from coaches nos. 10 and 29 |
201–206 | 80-seat coach trailer | 1927 | Pullman | Lengthened in 1946–48 |
207–210 | 50-seat coach smoker trailer | |||
211–212 | 1929 | |||
351–352 | 16-seat parlor–observation–buffet trailer | 1927 | Originally 20 fixed chairs; rebuilt with 16 rotating chairs in 1929; rebuilt as coaches in 1942 | |
353–354 | 56-seat coach trailer | 1938–39 | Standard Steel | Rebuilt from parlors built in 1929 |
The South Shore Line uses a zone-based fare system, with prices based on the distance traveled and stations' proximity to Millennium Station. There are a total of eleven zones (1–11). Tickets may be purchased at stations, online, and through the South Shore mobile app. Ticket options include one-way, 10-ride, 25-ride, and monthly passes. One-way tickets may also be purchased on trains, but will incur a $1.00 penalty fee if a ticket agent was present at the departure station. Children aged 13 years and under, seniors aged 65 and over, passengers with disabilities, students, active-duty military personnel, and those holding RTA Reduced Fare Permits are eligible for reduced fares. NICTD accepts cash aboard trains, cash and checks at ticket offices, and credit cards online and at Millennium Station's ticket office. Most stations have ticket machines which only accept credit cards. [35] For travel to Hegewisch station (zone 3), fares are set by Metra. [36]
Since 2005, there has been an ongoing debate pertaining to plans to relocate trackage off the streets of Michigan City. [37] In July 2009, NICTD announced its intention to relocate the Michigan City track south of its current location in order to smooth out the curves, cut down the number of grade crossings, increase speed and reduce maintenance costs. [38] The plan also calls for the replacement of both current stations with a single new station located a block west of the current 11th Street boarding location (between Franklin and Washington streets) with a modern, high-level platform and parking lot. The plan would require a demolition of residential and retail buildings currently located on the south side of 11th Street. [39]
The relocation effort faced a setback in March 2010 when NICTD announced that it was short necessary funds to complete the preliminary engineering study. Unless the funding was found, the relocation would have been postponed indefinitely since, without the engineering study, NICTD would not be able to get state and federal funds necessary to complete the relocation. [40] NICTD and the city continued to work on obtaining the funds needed. [41] In 2011 NICTD accepted bids for a $1 million study, expected to take 18 months. [42] The study was completed in October 2013. The preferred alternative identified by the study preserved an alignment similar to the current route but relocated the tracks alongside the street. It proposed replacing the two existing stations with a new station near the center of Michigan City. [43] The realignment was completed as a part of the double track project from Gary to Michigan City. [44]
Street running ended on February 27, 2022, and buses replaced trains within this section prior to the opening of the new alignment. [45] [46] Service between Dune Park and Carroll Avenue resumed on October 25, 2023. [47] Service on the remaining closed section between Gary and Dune Park restarted on April 9, 2024, with a new schedule taking advantage of the double track beginning on May 14. [48]
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NICTD planned to apply for federal funding for a preliminary engineering study and environmental survey of a Hammond-to-Lowell leg in 2009. As of 2008 [update] , that leg had a projected price tag of $551 million. [49] As of 2019 [update] , the cost has increased to $665 million. NICTD was awarded funding in the spring of 2020 and the line broke ground in October 2020. [50] The project is estimated to open to revenue service in May 2025. [51] [52]
The new line will run through Munster to Dyer, with a possible later extension to St. John, and trains will run as shuttles between Hammond and Dyer during off-peak hours. [53] The alignment of the new branch leaves the old CSS&SB main immediately before the original Hammond station. Hence, the NICTD built the Hammond Gateway station to serve both branches. [54]
At a legislative hearing in October 2008, NICTD officials said they would drop further study of a Munster-to-Valparaiso route, and begin study of a Gary–Valparaiso route. At the hearing, NICTD officials said the projected cost of $673 million for the Munster-to-Valparaiso route as well as low projected ridership would have made it ineligible for federal funding and opted to study the Gary-to-Valparaiso route instead. [55] The Gary-to-Valparaiso route would utilize the partially abandoned former Pennsylvania Railroad line. NICTD officials contend the shorter length of a Gary-to-Valparaiso run and the chance to use existing tracks there may make it a lower-cost alternative to the Munster-to-Valparaiso route.
In the 1980s and 1990s, there was some discussion about the possibility of extending the line from South Bend east to Elkhart County, Indiana. [56] [57] In 1988, Elkhart, Indiana Mayor James Perron pushed for the government to look into making long-term plans for an extension into his city. [58]
There are proposals to replace the South Bend terminus with a new station.
There is a proposal to reestablish a station in New Carlisle. [59]
The line operates over the tracks of the Metra Electric Line from Millennium Station to Kensington-115th Street. Metra owns the track in this territory. Per a long-standing non-compete clause with Metra, outbound South Shore Line trains to Indiana only stop at Metra Electric stations to receive passengers; inbound trains to Millennium Station only stop at Metra Electric stations to discharge passengers.
South Shore Line trains make the following station stops: [60]
State | Fare zone | Location | Station | Mile (km) [61] | Avg. weekday ridership (2019) [61] | Connections and notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IL | 1 | Chicago | Millennium Station | 0.0 (0) | 4,227 | Metra: ■ Metra Electric CTA Bus: 4, X4, 6, 19, 20, 26, 60, N66, 124, 143, 147, 148, 151, 157 Chicago "L": Red (at Lake), Green Brown Orange Pink Purple (at Washington/Wabash) Pace Bus: 855 Plainfield–East Loop Express VALPOtransit: ChicaGo Dash |
Van Buren Street | 0.8 (1.3) | 977 | Metra: ■ Metra Electric CTA Bus: 1, 3, 4, X4, 6, 7, J14, 26, 28, 126, 130, 147, 148, 151 | |||
Museum Campus/11th Street | 1.4 (2.3) | 166 | Metra: ■ Metra Electric CTA Bus: 1, 3, 4, X4, 12, 130, 146 | |||
McCormick Place (special events only) | 2.7 (4.3) | 0 | Metra: ■ Metra Electric CTA Bus: 3 King Drive, 21 Cermak | |||
53rd Street | 6.5 (10.5) | South Shore service withdrawn October 16, 1966, replaced by 57th Street | ||||
2 | 57th Street | 7.0 (11.3) | 271 | Metra: ■ Metra Electric CTA Bus: 15 Jeffery Local, 28 Stony Island, 55 Garfield, 171 U of Chicago/Hyde Park | ||
63rd Street | 7.9 (12.7) | 3 | Metra: ■ Metra Electric CTA Bus: 63 63rd | |||
Kensington/115th Street | 14.5 (23.3) | South Shore service withdrawn February 15, 2012 | ||||
3 | Hegewisch | 19.0 (30.6) | 862 | CTA Bus: 30 South Chicago Pace: 358 Torrence, 364 159th Street | ||
IN | 4 | Hammond | Hammond Gateway | 20.9 (33.6) | 1,345 | |
East Chicago | East Chicago | 23.4 (37.7) | 1,493 | East Chicago Transit: E1 Griffith Plaza, E2 Crosstown, E3 West Calumet GPTC: R1 Lakeshore Connection | ||
5 | Gary | Gary/Chicago Airport | 28.0 (45.1) | 80 | GPTC: R1 Lakeshore Connection | |
Ambridge | 29.2 (47.0) | Closed July 5, 1994 | ||||
Buchanan Street [62] | Closed | |||||
Gary Metro Center | 30.9 (49.7) | 426 | GPTC: R1, R3, BMX, L1, L2, L3, L5 | |||
Miller | 34.7 (55.8) | 339 | GPTC: L2 Oak/County Line Rd | |||
6 | Ogden Dunes | Portage/Ogden Dunes | 38.9 (62.6) | 237 | ||
Dune Acres | Dune Acres | 44.7 (71.9) | Closed 1994 | |||
Porter | Dune Park | 46.0 (74.0) | 474 | V-Line: Orange Line | ||
Porter County | Tremont | 47.0 (75.6) | Closed June 2, 1986, replaced with Dune Park | |||
7 | Kemil Road | Closed July 5, 1994 | ||||
Beverly Shores | Beverly Shores | 50.4 (81.1) | 47 | |||
8 | Michigan City | Willard Avenue | Closed July 5, 1994 | |||
11th Street | 55.8 (89.8) | 102 | ||||
Carroll Avenue | 57.5 (92.5) | 172 | Michigan City Transit: 3 | |||
9 | Smith | LaLumiere | Closed July 5, 1994 | |||
10 | Rolling Prairie | Rolling Prairie | ||||
Hudson Lake | Hudson Lake | 74.6 (120.1) | 1 | |||
New Carlisle | New Carlisle | 76.3 (122.8) | Closed July 5, 1994 | |||
11 | South Bend | South Bend Airport | 90.1 (145.0) | 227 | Transpo: 4 Lincolnway/Airport Greyhound Lines Coach USA | |
South Bend | Current Amtrak station, South Shore service withdrawn November 21, 1992 | |||||
South Bend | Closed 1970, located in downtown South Bend |
Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 stations on 11 rail lines. It is the fourth busiest commuter rail system in the United States by ridership and the largest and busiest commuter rail system outside the New York City metropolitan area. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 31,894,900, or about 163,100 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024. The estimated busiest day for Metra ridership occurred on November 4, 2016—the day of the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series victory rally, with a record 460,000+ passengers.
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.
Millennium Station is a major commuter rail terminal in the Loop (downtown), Chicago. It is the northern terminus of the Metra Electric District to Chicago's southern suburbs, and the western terminus of the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana.
The Metra Electric District is an electrified commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra which connects Millennium Station, in downtown Chicago, with the city's southern suburbs. As of 2018, it is the fifth busiest of Metra's 11 lines, after the BNSF, UP-NW, UP-N, and UP-W Lines with nearly 7.7 million annual riders. While Metra does not explicitly refer to any of its lines by color, the timetable accents for the Metra Electric District are printed in bright "Panama orange" to reflect the line's origins with the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) and its Panama Limited passenger train. Apart from the spots where its tracks run parallel to other main lines, it is the only Metra line running entirely on dedicated passenger tracks, with no freight trains operating anywhere on the actual route itself. The line is the only one in the Metra system with more than one station in Downtown Chicago, the only line with no stations in fare zone 4, and also has the highest number of stations (49) of any Metra line.
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.
LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 South LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. First used as a rail terminal in 1852, it was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968, and for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1978, but now serves only Metra's Rock Island District. The present structure became the fifth station on the site when its predecessor was demolished in 1981 and replaced by the new station and the One Financial Place tower for the Chicago Stock Exchange. The Chicago Board of Trade Building, Willis Tower, and Harold Washington Library are nearby.
Van Buren Street station is a commuter rail station in downtown Chicago that serves the Metra Electric Line to University Park, Blue Island, and South Chicago neighborhood; and the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana.
Museum Campus/11th Street is a commuter rail station in downtown Chicago that serves the Metra Electric Line north to Millennium Station and south to University Park, Blue Island and South Chicago; and the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana.
McCormick Place station is a commuter rail station in Chicago underneath McCormick Place, Chicago's main convention center, that serves the Metra Electric Line north to the Millennium Station and south to University Park, Blue Island, and South Chicago. Since August 2024, South Shore Line trains, which travel to Gary and South Bend, Indiana, only stop there in exceptional cases like special events.
63rd Street station is a commuter rail station within the city of Chicago that serves the Metra Electric Line north to Millennium Station and south to University Park, Blue Island, and the Chicago neighborhood of South Chicago and the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana. Most South Shore Line trains do not stop at this station, except for one inbound train during the AM rush and two outbound trains during the PM rush on weekdays. As of 2018, the station is the 169th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 167 weekday boardings.
Hegewisch station is a commuter rail station in the city of Chicago, Illinois in the Hegewisch neighborhood, that serves the South Shore Line north to Millennium Station and east to the cities of Hammond, East Chicago, Gary, Michigan City, and South Bend, Indiana. The Hegewisch station has high-level platforms, as part of NICTD's continuing effort to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The Highliner is a bilevel electric multiple unit (EMU) railcar. The original series of railcars were built in 1971 by the St. Louis Car Company for commuter service on the Illinois Central Railroad, in south Chicago, Illinois, with an additional batch later produced by Bombardier. A second generation featuring a completely new design was produced by Nippon Sharyo beginning in 2005.
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.
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.
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.
Hudson Lake is a train stop operated by the South Shore Line in the unincorporated community of Hudson Lake, Indiana. It is one of a very few interurban stations located in a rural region of the United States, being located approximately halfway between the much larger communities of Michigan City and South Bend. The station is composed of a passenger shelter, a sign, a small concrete pad, and a small parking lot. As of 2021, the Hudson Lake station is a flag stop. A customer seeking to board the train here must push a button to activate a flashing strobe light that will catch the attention of the train engineer.
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.
South Bend Airport is a commuter train station on, and the eastern terminus of, the South Shore Line. Servicing South Bend International Airport, the station is 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Downtown South Bend, Indiana. In November 1992, the Airport station replaced the South Shore Line's former terminus at the South Bend Amtrak Station. The new station was constructed at a cost of $1.8 million and dedicated on November 20, 1992.
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.