Munster is a suburban town in North Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is in the Chicago metropolitan area, approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of the Chicago Loop, and shares municipal boundaries with Hammond to the north, Highland to the east, Dyer and Schererville to the south, and Lansing and Lynwood directly west over the Illinois border. Its population was 23,894 at the 2020 US Census.
The Monon Railroad, also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1971, and much of the former Monon right of way is owned today by CSX Transportation. In 1970, it operated 540 miles (870 km) of road on 792 miles (1,275 km) of track; that year it reported 1320 million ton-miles of revenue freight and zero passenger-miles.
Gary/Chicago International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport in Gary, in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is three miles northwest of the city center of Gary, and 25 miles (40 km) southeast of the Chicago Loop. It is operated by the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority, which was created by an interstate compact between Gary, Chicago, and Indiana. Nearby highway connections include I-90, I-80, I-94, I-65 and the Chicago Skyway.
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 6,300 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.
The Monon Trail is a rail trail located entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon Railroad was a popular railroad line connecting the cities of Chicago and Indianapolis, with stops at major settlements along its route. After the decline of railroad travel and the sale of the company in 1987, the portion of the line between Indianapolis and Delphi, Indiana, was abandoned.
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.
Dyer station is an Amtrak station in Dyer, Indiana, served by the Cardinal route.
Dune Park is a station in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, located north of the municipalities of Chesterton and Porter. It is used by South Shore Line trains, and serves as the headquarters of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), the umbrella agency that operates the South Shore Line. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and Indiana State Road 49.
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.
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.
ChicaGo Dash is an express bus service between Chicago, Illinois and Valparaiso, Indiana. The distance between the City of Valparaiso and Downtown Chicago is about 54 miles. It is jointly run by the city of Valparaiso and the Valparaiso Redevelopment Commission, with substantial financial support from the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. It was launched on October 6, 2008.
Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority was a regional public transit agency operating in Northwest Indiana's Lake and Porter counties. Established in 2000, it was known as Regional Transportation Authority until 2005. The agency is responsible for improving public transit options in Northwestern Indiana by consolidating and modifying existing services and introducing new ones to fill the gaps. Under the current consolidation plan, RBA will eventually assume responsibility for running all existing bus services in Lake and Porter counties. The details of the plan are still under development as of January 2010.
Munster/Dyer Main Street station is a planned South Shore Line rail station located at the foot of Main Street on the border of Munster and Dyer, Indiana. The station and main parking lot itself will reside solely within Munster town limits while additional parking and a maintenance facility will reside within the Dyer town limits. The station will be constructed adjacent to the CSX Monon Subdivision, but will utilize new tracks. Intended to serve as the southern terminus of the Monon Corridor, it is expected to open to revenue service in 2025. Dyer Amtrak station is located about 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km) to the south.
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.
South Hammond station is a planned South Shore Line rail station in Hammond, Indiana. Constructed as part of the West Lake Corridor project, it is expected to open to revenue service in 2025. It will feature a 1,000-space park and ride lot and is adjacent to the Monon Trail.
Munster Ridge Road station is a planned South Shore Line rail station in Munster, Indiana. It is expected to open to revenue service in 2025. The station is located at Ridge Road and Manor Avenue adjacent to the Monon Trail.
Tremont was a flag stop on the South Shore Line located at Tremont Road in Porter County, Indiana. The station was built by the Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway and opened c. 1908, serving its namesake town and later the Indiana Dunes.
There are active proposals to build a new station in South Bend, Indiana, for the South Shore Line commuter rail service to replace the existing South Bend Airport station. The existing South Bend Airport station, built in 1992 on the east side of the airport, is a terminus for the train service. The route that carries the South Shore Line to its current station is considered slow and circuitous. While a number of locations have been looked at, the primary contenders have been relocating the station to the west side of South Bend International Airport or building a station in Downtown South Bend. Construction of a station in Downtown South Bend was championed by Pete Buttigieg during his tenure as mayor of South Bend. In late 2022, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), the operator of the South Shore Line, advanced plans to begin construction on a new station at the west side of the airport as early as late 2024, commissioning an engineering study to prepare for this. Even if it builds a new station on the west side of the airport, NICTD has not ruled out the possibility of also building a future connection to Downtown South Bend.
