South Shore riders can take their bikes on a few rush-hour trains for the first time soon, as new South Shore Line timetables go into effect April 1.
More changes could be coming to the trains' schedule this spring after riders have a chance to weigh in, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation Board learned Friday.
Mike Noland, the South Shore's president and general manager, said the commuter service has been looking to "redistribute" four eastbound rush-hour trains that leave downtown Chicago between 5 and 6 p.m. One train with a later departure could have fewer stops along the line.
The South Shore also is considering changing the departure schedule for weekend and holiday trains leaving Chicago's Millennium Station, and adding another eastbound and westbound train.
Noland said the South Shore will draft the proposed changes in April and seek riders' comments.
The NICTD board will examine the proposal at its May 12 meeting, and any changes approved then would go into effect July 1.
The South Shore is entering the second year of its bikes-on-trains program, from April 1 to Oct. 31. Cars equipped with bike carriers will run on weekends and holidays, except for certain busy weekends; each designated train is marked on the new printed schedules with a tiny bicycle. Also, the railroad is partnering with the Porter County tourism office and South Shore Trails to publicize riding opportunities in Northwest Indiana.
Opening up four rush-hour trains – the first two in the morning and in the afternoon – for bicycles is a response to some comments from last year.
Also at the NICTD meeting:
•The board listened to an update on the project to install Positive Train Control, a federally mandated system for all railroads, to prevent train collisions and other hazards. NICTD is paying $6.15 million each year for the project's 25-year bond issue.
"We're making trains smarter," said Nick LaRocco, a vice president of the Parsons Transportation Group, which is installing the computer-run PTC system.
He said the South Shore's system will be in service by May 2018, well ahead of the Federal Railroad Administration's Dec. 31, 2018 national deadline.
Not all the Metra rail lines in the Chicago area will meet that deadline, he added. Noland said the South Shore has asked Metra to put a priority on the tracks that the South Shore uses in Chicago.
•Noland said he's "hopeful, cautiously optimistic" about the chances that this year's Indiana General Assembly will help fund the railroad's $290 million project to build a second set of tracks between Gary and Michigan City, to improve the trains' speed and reliability. The legislature is being asked to fund about one-fourth of the cost, and the four counties served by the South Shore have preliminary agreements to pay another one-fourth. The remaining half would come from a federal grant.
The engineering design and environmental assessment for the double-track project are nearly finished, he said, and public hearing could be scheduled this summer in Michigan City and Gary.
Noland also noted that the current federal transportation act, which passed Congress in 2015, includes money for the transit grant programs that President Trump's preliminary budget proposed eliminating. Those grant programs have "tremendous support" around the country, he said.
•W.J. O'Dea, NICTD's chief operating officer, reported on steps being taken to respond to service disruptions like the Jan. 12 ice storm that stranded passengers on one train for several hours. Among those steps: designating a staff member to focus full-time on customer service; improving communications with passengers on trains; and buying a diesel locomotive that will be stationed near the western end of the line, instead of Michigan City, to help stranded trains.