[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...33658149498.txt

Funding dire for South Shore study

Money not included in earmarks
By Alicia Ebaugh
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, March 25, 2010 4:16 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Down to their “last hope” for $2 million to fund a preliminary engineering study of all possible configurations relocating the South Shore Line through Michigan City, South Shore and city officials said Wednesday they likely will need to pursue other options.

Any modifications to the South Shore Line may now be pushed back later than 2015 if funding isn’t found by the end of next month, requiring the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District to file for an extension of time.

“We’ve been looking every direction for money. We’re not going to let this go away,” said Mark Yagelski, president of the NICTD board and the La Porte County Council.

Mayor Chuck Oberlie said he was informed Wednesday money for the project was not included among 13 Congressional earmarks submitted by U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger.

“He was looking for projects with immediate employment opportunities, and this is not something that would produce results right away,” Oberlie said.

The cutoff in the U.S. Senate for earmarks is April 28, Yagelski said, so NICTD officials plan to go to Washington, D.C., to meet with his representatives.

“If that doesn’t succeed, we may as well wait for next year’s appropriations,” he said. “I’m not as optimistic as I was a month ago about getting this done quickly. I can’t really tell people now to not fix up their property on 11th Street because we’re going to buy it. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

The study would explore four different options: NICTD’s original plan, a northern route, a modified version of the northern route and a southern route.

“We have to look at all reasonable alternatives,” Oberlie said.

With the original South Shore plan, NICTD intended to improve its service by pulling out the embedded tracks in 11th Street and realigning the route along 10th and 11th streets. The changes are needed, in part, to meet federal requirements for what is called “positive train control” by 2015. The NICTD proposal calls for closing the two existing stations and building a new one between the historic downtown and Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets.

In response, concerned residents proposed bringing the route near the Amtrak line because 17 of 34 street crossings would be closed along the 10th and 11th street corridor. The plan also would involve the demolition of more than 100 houses and businesses.

A modified northern route would travel along Michigan Boulevard, avoiding use of the swing bridge. The south route is along CSX railroad tracks, although NICTD has already deemed that route unworkable.

The study may cost $1 million or less if officials are able to whittle the options down to two, said Michigan City Councilman Bob McKee. That would be NICTD’s proposal and the north-end proposal.

“We’ve been making plans for years along Michigan Boulevard, we can’t just trash those now,” McKee said, referencing a residential and business development plan in the works along the northern end of that corridor. “Why else have we spent so much money buying up property?”

But Oberlie said they can’t do that when some residents still vocally support a modified north-end plan.

“Congressmen want to see full community support of projects,” Yagelski said. “They’re not going to get involved when there’s still a turf war going on.”

Oberlie said he wants NICTD to apply to the Federal Railroad Administration for an exception from positive train control, which will require railroads to use GPS navigation to control train movement and better assure safety, only inside city limits. NICTD has said positive train control will not work with Michigan City’s track alignment in the middle of 11th Street.

“If we can deem it an historic corridor, perhaps we can work their needs in with ours and build a new station instead of moving all the track,” he said.

Yagelski said trains could only travel 20 mph in areas without positive train control, and that would not work for South Shore scheduling.

[mcstumper]

Boy, I have to admit that the more I think about the modified North End plan, the more I think it might be the way to go. A couple of things I think would have to be included in such a plan:
1. There is always talk about dispatching control for trains on the Amtrak right of way. Joe Black could answer this question, but if the two railroads are merely side-by-side and don't share tracks, is this still and issue? If it is still a problem, could the South Shore instead use the old Monon right of way that ran just south of Matey's to eliminate this issue. Of course NICTD would have to buy that property (along with the Depot and Matey's) before that new commercial development is built on it, but it might reduce some headaches.
2. The tracks would have to go under the existing U.S. 12 Trail Creek overpass, not cross U.S. 12 near the base of the bridge. After passing under the bridge the tracks would have to angle back and run as close to Michigan Blvd as possible before finally turning east before 8th St. If this is designed creatively, it would hopefully allow the Trail Creek redevelopment to proceed.
3. NITCD would have to reimburse the City for the cost of revising Michigan Blvd/Trail Creek redevelopment plan
4. Because this would invariably decrease the attractiveness of the Trail Creek property that the City is trying to redevelop, NICTD should pay for design and construction of an elevated pedestrian walkway between the City's West Side and the the beaches west of the NIPSCO plant.

This plan would not place the huge scar across some of our City's most valuable real estate like the other North End plan. I would also have to think because the City already owns or has plans to purchase much of the property in question that the expense would be minimal compared to the other alternatives.

[Dave]

McStumper, I'm intrigued by the modified north end plan as well.

I'm not sure about the specifics, but if it could be tastefully incorporated into the redevelopment plan for Trail Creek it could be pretty cool.

[joe.black]

Boy, I have to admit that the more I think about the modified North End plan, the more I think it might be the way to go. A couple of things I think would have to be included in such a plan:
1. There is always talk about dispatching control for trains on the Amtrak right of way. Joe Black could answer this question, but if the two railroads are merely side-by-side and don't share tracks, is this still and issue? If it is still a problem, could the South Shore instead use the old Monon right of way that ran just south of Matey's to eliminate this issue. Of course NICTD would have to buy that property (along with the Depot and Matey's) before that new commercial development is built on it, but it might reduce some headaches.

If the two railroads are side-by-side and don't share tracks, then no - there is not an issue (or at least a *further* issue) with Amtrak dispatching control. But - that makes the project a lot more expensive, since you're building a wholly separate railroad beside Amtrak's. And it also probably does not allow for future double-tracking. All that said, I don't think a true cost estimate of that alternative has been prepared, but it probably should be.

2. The tracks would have to go under the existing U.S. 12 Trail Creek overpass, not cross U.S. 12 near the base of the bridge. After passing under the bridge the tracks would have to angle back and run as close to Michigan Blvd as possible before finally turning east before 8th St. If this is designed creatively, it would hopefully allow the Trail Creek redevelopment to proceed.

There was a plan called the "Blocksom plan" that I was moderately familiar with, but there were several issues with it, not the least of which was running diesel locomotives past the Blue Chip and the (someday) redeveloped areas in Trail Creek. I think that I remember those being the primary concerns. Plus, taking up land that would have been dedicated to some kind of "riverwalk".

[joe.black]

McStumper, I'm intrigued by the modified north end plan as well.

I'm not sure about the specifics, but if it could be tastefully incorporated into the redevelopment plan for Trail Creek it could be pretty cool.

I agree - it could be! The only concern might be the diesels, which tend to be a bit loud and smoky. Worse, the perception of them is that they're VERY loud and smoky.

[mcstumper]

I agree - it could be! The only concern might be the diesels, which tend to be a bit loud and smoky. Worse, the perception of them is that they're VERY loud and smoky.

They could re-lay track over the Peanut Bridge north to where that line used to join the Amtrak line (just west of the new Pioneer Lumber facility). Freight could operate over Trail Creek swing bridge and the NICTD trains could operate along Michigan Blvd. If you look closely at the swing bridge, it was designed for for two sets of tracks, but currently only has one set of tracks going across it.

[joe.black]

They could re-lay track over the Peanut Bridge north to where that line used to join the Amtrak line (just west of the new Pioneer Lumber facility). Freight could operate over Trail Creek swing bridge and the NICTD trains could operate along Michigan Blvd. If you look closely at the swing bridge, it was designed for for two sets of tracks, but currently only has on set of tracks going across it.

Well, anything is possible with money. The challenge is to identify the most cost-effective project that will maximize the benefit to the railroad and the city. Of course, the more complex you make the project, the more expensive it becomes.

[Dave]

Which is why we need another $2 million for another study.

[Ang]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/0...51669478581.txt

Watchdog residents stress alternate South Shore routes


By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, June 17, 2010 4:14 AM CDT


MICHIGAN CITY — As the agency that runs the South Shore Line prepares to apply for grant money to study ways to reroute the railway through Michigan City, a group has begun advocating yet another path through town.

The group wants more consideration given to rerouting the railway west of Trail Creek, either on a route that would run along the creek or another that skirts Michigan Boulevard. It would travel around the northern tip of the city, paralleling the Amtrak tracks at one point.

Although Robert Murray and Lou Hapke, two members of the group, have two slightly different alignments for the route, they say either option would be preferable to rehabbing the current route along 11th Street.

“It’s to the point where there are so many people opposed to 11th Street and so many negatives, you almost have to consider something else,” Murray said.

Hapke and Murray talked about their ideas at a recent Redevelopment Commission meeting. Both routes would affect plans for the redevelopment of Trail Creek. Murray’s would have the South Shore Line run through the current Trail Creek Marina. By laying tracks along Michigan Boulevard, Hapke’s plan would also cut through the redevelopment area.

Rerouting the South Shore Line will mean drastic changes.

According to a City Council resolution in 2009, the previous Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District plans to upgrade the South Shore Line track along the 10th-and-11th street corridor would have required the purchase of more than 100 privately owned buildings and the closing of 17 to 34 at-grade crossings.

In a way, Hapke and Murray’s ideas are not new. The routes they envision both utilize the path of the former Nickel Plate railway.

The two say their routes would be cheaper than some of the other routes that have been publicly discussed. Those include a northerly route that would cross Trail Creek, a route that would travel near the CSX line south of Ames Field and the 10th-and-11th-street route.

In 2009, the northerly route would have cost more than $200 million and creating the 10th-and-11th street tracks $65 million, according to NICTD officials quoted in agency board-meeting minutes. The plans to relocate the South Shore Line near the CSX tracks would also cost more than $65 million.

Although NICTD did not get $2 million in congressional earmarks to study routes this spring, agency spokesman John Parsons said NICTD hopes to apply for an $800,000 federal grant this summer to study potential routes. If NICTD were awarded the TIGER II grant, Michigan City and NICTD would each need to chip in $100,000.

Parsons said the study would determine which of the three routes — the northerly route, 10th-and-11th street route or southerly route — is most feasible. He said the study may look at alternative versions of the northerly route, meaning Hapke and Murray’s ideas may get an airing.

Mayor Chuck Oberlie said the City Council may soon be considering a resolution to offer NICTD financial support should it be awarded the grant.

[mcstumper]

Just trying to think outside the ol' box here. Does the Michigan City South Shore station have to be a run-through design (like all the stations except Randolph and South Bend Airport) or could it be a dead-end like Randolph and South Bend? What if the South-end route was used (past Ames field), then turned north on the old Monon right-a-way, eventually dead-ending at Swingbelly's. There would be a Y in the line that would allow the train to be reversed at the station (like at South Bend and Randolph) and continue on its way along US 12. Map attached for clarification. Yellow blob would be the station location.

[joe.black]

Just trying to think outside the ol' box here. Does the Michigan City South Shore station have to be a run-through design (like all the stations except Randolph and South Bend Airport) or could it be a dead-end like Randolph and South Bend? What if the South-end route was used (past Ames field), then turned north on the old Monon right-a-way, eventually dead-ending at Swingbelly's. There would be a Y in the line that would allow the train to be reversed at the station (like at South Bend and Randolph) and continue on its way along US 12. Map attached for clarification. Yellow blob would be the station location.

No good. Making the Michigan City station a stub-end terminal rather than a run-through station cuts off ready access to both South Bend and the main railcar storage/repair facility at Carroll Avenue.

In order to change ends, crew members would have to walk to the other end of the train and perform what's called a Class 2 brake test (required by Federal regulations) before leaving. This would be in addition to the Class 2 that's now performed at Carroll Avenue when cars are added to trains coming west from South Bend.

Good out-of-box thinking, but a little too out of the box in this case.

[Ang]

Guess they got the funding they needed for ANOTHER study....


http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/0...c7426656343.txt

City prepares to study South Shore routes

By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 5:10 PM CDT

MICHIGAN CITY — The Common Council held a workshop Monday on funding the local portion of a $1 million study to relocate the South Shore Line through Michigan City.

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District needs the city to contribute $100,000 in cash plus tens of thousands of dollars in in-kind services in order to win a highly competitive federal grant.

The council members considered a resolution authorizing the grant application, but did not hold a vote on it.

NICTD spokesman John Parsons said that the rail agency and the city need to study different alignments through the city in detail in order to eventually win federal money to construct the project.

“As part of the stimulus package that was passed back in 2009 there was $1.5 billion available, nationally, for capital projects,” Parsons said, “and if we had had the planning done, the alternatives analysis complete, we would have been in a position to ... I think competitively apply for that funding.”

The workshop participants discussed a southern route near the freight tracks by Ames Field, tracks along the 10th- and 11th-Street corridor and a northern route across the top of the city.

One plan to upgrade the track along the 10th- and 11th-Street corridor would have required the purchase of more than 100 privately owned buildings and the closing of 17 to 34 at-grade crossings, according to a 2009 Common Council resolution.

In 2009, the northerly route would have cost more than $200 million and creating the 10th- and 11th-Street tracks, $65 million, according to NICTD officials quoted in agency board meeting minutes. The plans to relocate the South Shore Line near the CSX tracks would also cost more than $65 million.

More study needs to be done, Councilman Rich Murphy said.

“The costs have been very crude estimates across the board,” he said. “No one’s really pinpointed the actual cost of any route to the detail that will be done in this analysis.”

In addition to the city’s $100,000, the Redevelopment Commission has agreed to chip in $10,000. NICTD is seeking money under through the TIGER II grant program. The city and NICTD will split in-kind contributions, Parsons said. NICTD will also fund $100,000 for the study. All funding matches are contingent upon the federal government’s agreeing to award the grant.

[joe.black]

Guess they got the funding they needed for ANOTHER study....
http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/0...c7426656343.txt

I know it seems like endless studies. It really goes back to the incredible hoops that local projects have to jump through to qualify for federal money. Great for consultants (and, full disclosure - I'm a rail transportation consultant now), but exhausting on the patience of taxpayers, and expensive.

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/1...cb689340686.txt

NICTD gets $800K grant for study

A South Shore train stops Thursday at the 11 Street station. Photo by Alicia Ebaugh
Focus is best route through the city
By Alicia Ebaugh
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, October 29, 2010 8:13 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — A study on the best route for the South Shore to take through Michigan City will finally come to fruition.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced an $800,000 TIGER II grant was awarded to Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District for a proposed $1 million study of potential realignments for the commuter rail line.

“I’m very pleased it was able to come together,” Mayor Chuck Oberlie said. “Now, we’ll be able to develop all options, and hopefully the community can work together to come to a consensus on the best one.”

U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Indiana, helped procure the grant, Oberlie said.

NICTD and Michigan City will split the $200,000 local portion of the study funding, with the federal government providing the rest. The Michigan City Redevelopment Commission will kick in $10,000.

NICTD wants the money to help study alternatives to the South Shore Line’s current alignment along 11th Street that would make operations more efficient and reduce costs. Agency spokesman John Parsons said the study will look into four proposed routes — two northerly routes, a new 10th-and-11th Street route or a southerly route — to determine which is most feasible.

“The study will try to answer fundamental issues related to cost and the community,” he said. “It should also be able to find any fatal flaws that could doom a plan due to environmental risk.”

With the original South Shore plan, NICTD intended to improve its service by pulling out the embedded tracks in 11th Street and realigning the route along 10th and 11th streets. The NICTD proposal calls for closing the two existing stations and building a new one between the historic downtown and Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets.

Upgrading the track along the 10th- and 11th-Street corridor would move the track to the south side of the street, requiring the purchase of more than 100 privately owned buildings and the closure of 17 street crossings across the city, Parsons has said. The study also will look into an alternative alignment of the northerly route along Michigan Boulevard, Oberlie said.

The northerly route would cost more than $200 million and creating the 10th- and 11th-Street tracks $65 million, according to NICTD officials quoted in agency board meeting minutes. The plans to relocate the South Shore Line near the CSX tracks also would cost more than $65 million.

Parsons hopes NICTD and city officials could start working together this winter on the study, hiring consultants early next year who will analyze the environmental, operational and community impact of each plan. He hopes the study would be completed within 18 months.

In the coming weeks, Oberlie said he wants to help the Michigan City Common Council put together a citizen advisory group that will be involved in the process.

The Reasons Why

Why does Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District say it needs to move the South Shore railroad tracks in Michigan City?

• Railroad alignment and track speed: The two miles of track have two severe horizontal curves and one vertical curve compounded by 34 grade crossings with a posted track speed of 25 mph, reducing actual speeds to less than 15 mph.

• Conflict with parallel and crossing vehicular traffic: The South Shore operates in the middle of 10th and 11th streets, with parallel vehicular traffic running east and west. It’s not uncommon for vehicles to wander into the path of a train.

• Signal issues: Rain and snow melt mixes with road salts, and that mixture rapidly deteriorates rail fasteners and shunts track circuits. This creates false shunting of the signal system and highway rail grade crossing warning devices, turning all signals red and forcing trains to operate at restricted speeds.

• Overhead wire: Because of the distance from street curb to track center, NICTD is limited to a single suspended trolley wire instead of the standard, more resilient two-wire configuration. The curb location of the pole line supporting the trolley wire, signals and communications also is vulnerable to automobile accidents.

• Maintenance costs: This segment of track is the most expensive to maintain. NICTD must periodically undertake an expensive, time-consuming replacement program requiring the excavation and removal of several items. This requires closure of streets to vehicular traffic and temporary busing of train passengers.

• Inadequate passenger stations: NICTD has two station stops in Michigan City with minimal accommodations and inadequate parking capacity. The Carroll Avenue station is classified as an ADA key station that requires the use of a portable, hand-operated lift. It can easily take 10 minutes to board passengers with disabilities there. The 11th Street station is not ADA accessible.

Source: NICTD

[eric.hanke]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/1...cb689340686.txt

I cannot believe the cost of this "study".

[joe.black]

I cannot believe the cost of this "study".

Consultants are expensive, but in the long run they're less expensive for transit agencies than keeping all that expertise in-house, on staff. Not saying it's a good or bad thing, it just is what it is. I've seen studies that are in the multi-millions.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.post-trib.com/news/2952580,tpc-1208.article

Study to examine South Shore relocation
Comments

December 8, 2010
BY CHARLES M. BARTHOLOMEW, POST-TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT

PORTAGE -- A new million-dollar study on relocating the South Shore Railroad in Michigan City that should be ready by 2012 won initial approval from regional planners Tuesday.

The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission's Transportation Policy Committee approved an amendment to its pending Transportation Improvement Plan that adds the study currently under discussion between Michigan City and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. The plan is scheduled for adoption next year.

NICTD representative Joe Crnkovich reported on the joint study to draw up a new list of alternate routes for the two-mile single-track segment that runs in the middle of 10th and 11th streets. He said the study will include the "null option" of not relocating the track.

"We're still working with the city to develop a request for proposals. I'm not sure when it will come out," he said.

Crnkovich said specific routes for the study, for which NICTD has received an $800,000 federal grant, "haven't been nailed down yet" and that the railroad and the city will provide the local match.

He said the city and the railroad will share the cost of the local match for the study that will explore in details a number of alternatives, their costs and the effects on neighborhoods.

Transportation planner Bill Brown said the amendment with the study will be presented Thursday to the NIRPC executive board.

Crnkovich also reported that South Shore ridership is down only slightly, due in part to the year's final service outages in November and because "the layoffs (in the Chicago Loop area) seem to have bottomed out."

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/art..._medium=twitter

In other board news, NIRPC approved a $1.1 million South Shore realignment study, a collaboration between the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District and Michigan City.

The study will evaluate a set of options for realigning the South Shore commuter railroad through Michigan City. Alternatives will be examined to address the "street running" of the two-mile segment of single track embedded in the middle of the city's 10th and 11th streets.

[Southsider2k12]

http://heraldargus.com/articles/2011/01/28...c2272187986.txt

Print | E-mail | Comment (1 comment(s)) | Rate | Text Size
Michigan City solicits NICTD study bids

By Matt Field
Staff writer
Published: Friday, January 28, 2011 5:06 PM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District has started reaching out to consultants to begin a $1 million study of potential South Shore Line routes.

NICTD spokesman John Parsons said Thursday he hopes NICTD and the city will have a consultant selected by the end of March to study four routes through town.

“We’ve already had firms express an interest and we did a direct mailing to those firms today,” he said. “We should get a good response.”

According to the scope of services described in the request for proposals, the city and NICTD want the study to result in a recommended, preferred alignment.

The study will consider four routes — two northerly routes, a new 10th-and-11th Street route and a southerly route. NICTD was awarded an $800,000 federal TIGER II grant to pay for the study. The NICTD board has already authorized its $100,000 match and the Common Council is on track to do the same in the near future.

The council, which has approved a resolution in favor of contributing to the study, will consider the $100,000 matching grant at its Feb. 2 meeting.

The request for proposals states that consultants should be able to deliver: a description of each alternative, a report evaluating the alternatives, an alternative analysis report which includes a preferred alignment, a document identifying next steps for the project, and descriptions of outreach activity.

The alignment study is just one phase of a potentially lengthy project. Parsons has said the new tracks and other infrastructure could cost $100 million.

[eric.hanke]

http://heraldargus.com/articles/2011/01/28...c2272187986.txt

Anyone wanna form a company and perform the study?