Double-decker cars delivered to South Shore

BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com

The first of 14 new double-decker cars pitched as a leap forward in passenger comfort for the South Shore commuter railroad have arrived at the service's Michigan City maintenance facility.

Once all fourteen arrive, the South Shore will be able to run two additional trains into Chicago from Michigan City and two additional trains back, rail officials said. The cars will increase overall South Shore capacity by 15 percent.

"It gives us the seating capacity where hopefully we can provide a seat for as many people as need one," said John Parsons, marketing and planning director for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.

The new cars will not be put into service until March following an extensive testing period and to allow time for training of engineers, Parsons said.

The South Shore is experiencing a slight drop in ridership of less than 1 percent this year, but Parsons said some rush-hour trains remain standing room only.

The cars have a total price tag of $51 million, of which $17.5 million is being paid by the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. NICTD piggybacked its order on a larger one by Chicago's Metra commuter rail.

Each double-decker car has seating for 111 passengers. Seat-backs can be adjusted by passengers to either be forward-facing or rear-facing, allowing groups wanting to sit together to face each other.

All cars have handicap accessible restrooms and airline-style lights that tell passengers when the restroom is occupied, Parsons said.

It has been eight years since the South Shore has taken delivery of new cars. More than half the current 68-car fleet is 26 years old and consists of all single-level cars, NICTD officials said.

The new cars were suppose to arrive at the Dune Park South Shore stop at 10 a.m. Friday for an inspection by the NICTD board of trustees. But a problem with jammed emergency breaks kept that from happening.

The car bodies were manufactured by Nippon Sharyo/Sumitomo, in Toyakawa, Japan. The cars were assembled at Nippon Sharyo/Super Steel in Milwaukee, Wis.