South Shore may add morning train

CHESTERTON | An added Chicago-bound morning train of undetermined length is a possibility -- only a possibility -- that the South Shore line will explore in the next several weeks as the full impact of construction-related commuting becomes clearer.

The temporary patch, which comes at a time of very heavy ridership and almost full utilization of South Shore train cars, was explained Friday to the board of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which operates the South Shore.

The South Shore is bracing for an expected increase in ridership when construction on the Dan Ryan Expressway starting this weekend reduces capacity on Chicago's busiest highway 50 percent in some areas.

The railway is looking at ways of using existing equipment to add another train before westbound Train 14, which terminates in Chicago at 10:25 a.m. Train 14 is the first post-rush hour train and is popular for passengers heading to baseball games, special events and downtown shopping, NICTD General Manager Gerald Hanas said.

Another option to explore would be increasing westbound Train 212, which terminates in Chicago at 8:52 a.m., from six cars to eight cars, said NICTD Chief Operating Officer Jeff Lowe.

Lowe said it would take two to three weeks of looking at ridership patterns after the start of construction to determine which rush hours trains would feel the construction-related pressure. Off-peak patterns would probably be evident sooner than that, he said.

The problem with shifting equipment is in the physical logistics of getting cars from where they are and then getting them back to where they need to be for regularly scheduled service, Lowe said.

Any patch plan would also require the cooperation of Metra in Chicago to move equipment.

South Shore spokesman John Parsons said the railroad will look at a similar addition on the evening rush hour, but he called shifting equipment to evening rush hour service even more problematic.

Even before the Ryan construction, Hanas said, the South Shore has seen an increase in ridership in the first two months of 2006. He guessed that energy prices and possibly anticipation of the construction may have driven the increases.