Posted by: Southsider2k12 Jan 25 2021, 03:20 PM
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-nictd-meet-double-track-st-0126-20210125-vslmopf7j5f55pkx3uiedgoecm-story.html
QUOTE
South Shore Line passengers could start riding more double-decker cars in two years.
The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board authorized an agreement Monday with Metra, the Chicago-area commuter rail service, to lease 26 of Metra’s double-deckers for 15 years for $3.5 million a year, starting in 2023.
The 14 double-deckers now on the South Shore Line are “probably our most popular cars,” South Shore President Michael Noland said.
The 26 additional cars come from a 2003 car order and are “excess” now for Metra, which is planning to buy up to 500 new multi-level cars for $1.8 billion.
The cars for the South Shore will be “like new” after Metra rehabilitates each car for $1 million, Noland said.
The South Shore had budgeted $8 million a year, through 2026, to buy new rail cars. Cutting that to $3.5 million during that time will allow the South Shore to make improvements in other aspects of the railroad, Noland said.
“We do think that this is a very positive opportunity for NICTD and for our riders,” he said.
He said he will send a revised capital plan to the NICTD board this year.
Also Monday, Noland reviewed the Federal Transit Administration’s Jan. 7 agreement to complete the funding for the South Shore’s Double Track project between Gary and Michigan City.