EDITORIAL: Help South Shore build a strong future for next century

Times of Northwest Indiana

In the summer of 1908, the Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway reached its final terminus in South Bend. A century of service had begun.

The interurban railroad has gone through many changes in 100 years. The next 100 promise even more.

Today, the railroad carries more than 4 million passengers each year. Revenues are split evenly between fares and government subsidies.

Much has been done recently to upgrade facilities along the existing rail line -- the same one used for the past century. Now it's time to add routes.

The immediate need is to add routes to Valparaiso and Lowell to serve riders not just in those two communities but all along the way.

This is a controversial move. Many people complain about the high cost of adding these routes. But those same people often don't see the even higher cost of rebuilding an expressway.

The cost of the current 14-mile Edens Expressway resurfacing project is nearly $43 million -- and that's just routine maintenance work. That, of course, is subsidized by tax dollars, just as the South Shore project would be.

There are two important reasons to get the South Shore expansion moving right away.

The first is to help Chicago attract the 2016 Olympics. The expanded passenger rail capacity would help visitors stay in Northwest Indiana and the South Bend area, then take the train to the Olympics events.

The second reason is that with or without the Olympics, the sooner the rail expansion is completed, the sooner the economic and traffic decongestion benefits begin.

Indiana lawmakers are haggling this summer over the local cost of expanding the rail line. That process must not bog down.

In its next century, the South Shore must become a bigger force in the region's transportation network. Expand the railroad to serve Lowell and Valparaiso and guide development appropriately to provide an alternative to clogged highways.