Scot Squires, LaPorte Herald Argus

ssquires@heraldargus.com

MICHIGAN CITY - Brittney Barrett shivered Friday as she waited for a South Shore train to take her from Michigan City's 11th Street station back to South Bend.

To warm her hands, she climbed up on the bench at the station's shelter to bring them closer to the overheard heaters.

The railroad installed the small glass station as a temporary facility until it can find money to reroute the tracks off 11th Street and build a new station, most likely next to the CSX tracks near Ames Field.

Officials want to reroute the tracks through Michigan City and out of South Bend Regional Airport to make the trip from South Bend to downtown Chicago less than two hours - a plan that Barrett and her friend Milan Washington both agreed would be beneficial to passengers, especially as the train travels through Michigan City down the center of residential streets.

"It is kind of dangerous having it so close to the cars," Washington said.

Right now, however, legislators downstate seem to be more focused on finding money to extend the commuter railroad deeper into Lake and Porter counties. Plans to reroute the tracks in Michigan City and South Bend are not included in a bill introduced by state Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville. House Bill 1220 would help to finance the extension of South Shore service to Valparaiso and Lowell through the creation of a tax increment financing district. A portion of sales taxes collected in the district, 12.46 percent, would go to fund the project instead of flowing to Indianapolis.

The veteran lawmaker said the approximately $30 million per year the district would provide would help finance the $350 million shortfall for the $1 billion project. The federal government is expected to chip in $500 million and the Lake-Porter County Regional Development Authority would contribute $150 million.

'It's fine with me'

While it's possible that the project to reroute the South Shore tracks in Michigan City and South Bend could be added to Dobis' bill, it doesn't appear likely - at least not this session.

State Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, supports the rerouting of the tracks, but said adding the La Porte and St. Joseph county projects to Dobis' bill might be a tough sell during this short session because the attention is on property tax relief.

Still, asked last week if he would be willing to include the La Porte and St. Joseph county projects in his bill, Dobis said, "I wouldn't discount the possibility of including it.

"If La Porte and St. Joseph counties want to get on board and it is OK with the Feds, it is fine with me," he said.

However, Dobis said La Porte and St. Joseph counties might have to set up a Regional Development Authority to take advantage of federal money for the project.

With Chicago possibly getting the 2016 summer Olympics, Dobis said now might be the opportune time for all counties in which the railroad operates to seek funding for improved service.

"If Chicago gets the Olympics, then they will have a venue of some kind in South Bend," he said.

In addition to rerouting the tracks in Michigan City and South Bend, Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie said he would also like the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, the agency that operates the South Shore, to study installing two sets of tracks.

"If we are concerned about increasing ridership, we need to decrease time," Oberlie said. "We should have parallel tracks."

Washington said he liked the mayor's idea because it might help keep the trains on time.

"Trains have been running late a lot because one has to stop so another can pass," he said.

Whatever happens, a new station in Michigan City still appears to be a long way off. That means plenty more cold nights for Barrett and Washington.
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