All photos are by John Greenfield.
In the last few days there's been some good news about Chicagoland rail expansion!
As we discussed yesterday, a judge's decision recently unfroze the federal funding for the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line Extension project to extend 'L' service into the city's Far South Side.
And today there were glad tidings on the other side of the "Hoosier Curtain" (the north-south demarcation that separates Illinois and Indiana). The South Shore Line commuter railroad, which has long provided service between Chicago's Millennium Park and South Bend Airport, launched the eight-mile Monon Corridor spur. It's a route between the Lakeshore Corridor's existing Hammond Gateway Station and a new Munster/Dyer stop directly to the south. Along the way, the new line has stations at South Hammond (173rd St.) and Munster Ridge.
After debuting this morning, the new rail extension in the Crossroads of America is as bakery-fresh as a Hoosier Mama Pie, so much so that, as I'm typing this, the route doesn't even appear on Google Maps. All the new stations provide wheelchair- and bike-friendly train boarding, and Dyer/Munster is only about a 10-minute pedal to heavy metal-friendly Three Floyds Brewery.
Here are some other basics to know about the Monon Corridor before we discuss today's festivities. Some non-rush trains on this line will simply provide shuttle service between Hammond and Munster. (In case you were wondering, sorry, these cities are not where the famous jazz organ and soft cheese were invented.)
On those shuttle runs, if you want to continue from Munster/Dyer all the way to Chicago, once you get to Hammond Gateway, you have to transfer to the main Lake Shore Corridor platform, and vice versa. However, you won't need a separate ticket to travel between the two lines
A tutorial video on how to use the new rail service.
However, some weekday morning and afternoon rush hour trains *do* provide a one-seat ride between Munster/Dyer and Millennium Station in the Chicago Loop. The trip will take 45 minutes to an hour, depending on whether a run skips some stops. It's a somewhat complex arrangement, so read this page on Monon Corridor service, including a full explanation of transfers and a FAQS section, and take a look at the new schedule, to see what I'm talking about.
Oh, and if you were wondering why the new route called the Monon Corridor and no longer the West Lake Corridor, it's original name, here's the story from the FAQs. "The South Shore Line decided to name it’s new extension the Monon Corridor in honor of the Monon Railroad, which historically operated on the rail corridor between Hammond and Dyer... from 1884 until 1971." Read more, including how the modern corridor came to be, here.
All right, that's a good start for "Monon Corridor 101," so let's move on to today's ribbon cutting and inaugural run. I made basically the entire trip from SBC HQ in Chicago's Uptown to Dyer/Munster Station via rail this morning. At the Wilson 'L' station, I caught the Purple Line, and then transferred to the Red Line at the Belmont stop. At Lake Station, to avoid rain, I walked through the Chicago Pedway to Millennium Station, which serves Metra Electric District trains as well as the South Shore Line. My train from Millennium to Hammond Gateway seemed to have lots of rail aficionados on it.
When I got to Hammond, a thunderstorm and tornado warning were in effect, so it wasn't deemed safe to immediately move forward with the planned ceremony under a big tent in the parking lot. The upside of that was it gave me a chance to buttonhole two of the most important people at the event.
As president of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which runs the South Shore, Michael Noland shepherded the Monon project, as well as the Lakeshore Corridor's recent double-tracking initiative, to the finish line. He retired from the railroad earlier this month, but served as the emcee for the ceremony.
Why did he decide to step down? "I've been in this industry almost 44 years, of which the last 12 have been here on the South Shore Line," he replied. "I set off to do and accomplish the board's strategic plan. We're done with that plan with the opening of this West Lake Service [he used the old name], and it just feels like the right time for the next leader. And so I'm really happy to find Dave Dech [pronounced 'Deck,' the new president]. He's going to take this railroad and do great things. So it's time for a change."
The new Monon route is a nice feather in Noland's cap. How does he feel about that? "Sometimes I pinch myself and realize that we were given $1.5 billion dollars to invest in this railroad, and that the historic amount of investment is going to change the face of this region for decades to come," he responded. "It was something that people thought may never happen, but this whole region came together. We were fortunate to have great leadership in the Indiana General Assembly, and at the right time we got our federal grants, and off we went to build. So I can't wait to see what this railroad becomes in the future. It really is exciting."
So how does Dech feel about launching this new line? "Well it's easy for me, because I didn't do anything," he said with a laugh. Having previously lead transit agencies in Austin, Texas and South Florida, he only started his current job two weeks ago. "So I'm fortunate to be able to come up here and be part of this groundbreaking that the team here and Mike Noland and everybody for the last decade or so has been working really hard on, and I'm just really happy to be up here and be part of it."
Dech said regularly rode trains and buses while he worked in the Lone Star and Sunshine states, and he plans to continue using transit here. "When [he and his wife] travel, we always use the transit," he said. "She's much better at it overseas than I am."
After the lightning subsided, the large crowd gathered under the tent. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, kicked things off by declaring, "Let's be clear, this is a major win for Indiana." He argued that the new rail access is a factor in the Chicago Bears considering relocatiion to The Region. "I promise you [Indiana Governor Mike Braun, one of the attendees], when you come here for the Bears announcement, there's going to be a lot better weather."
McDermott is a Democrat and Braun is a Republican and, in these divisive times, the event generally seemed to have a refreshingly bipartisan spirit. The politicians of various stripes who spoke seemed to all appreciate that the new rail corridor would help connect Northwest Indiana residents with education and job opportunities, and encourage more investment in the area. I didn't notice anyone bring up the subject but, of course, fewer cars on the road, crashes, pollution, and traffic jams will be other benefits of the new rail service.
Unsurprisingly, the only mildly objectionable comments came from Connor Torossian, associate administrator for communications and congressional affairs for the Trump-controlled Federal Transit Administration. He said he was speaking on behalf of USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy, a former reality TV star, who put the Red Line Extension funding on ice by ridiculously claiming the CTA's federally mandated DBE practices were "discriminatory."
Torossian credited the Monon Corridor's success to a grant from the FTA "under Trump 45's administration, and it's not often that we get to see investments under two different administrations but the same president, 45 to 47." He added that a few months ago, Braun met with Duffy and himself, "and we talked about building big, beautiful projects for the state of Indiana... Let's keep building, keep growing, and put Indiana's workers and families first." There was some murmuring from audience member when Torossian dropped those low-key Trumpisms.
But Torossian's speech was the exception that proved the rule, that this was generally a "kumbaya moment." For example, Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan talked about how his niece, the child of a single mom, got a scholarship to art school in Chicago, but has trouble affording gas to drive to and from the city, so she takes the South Shore. "This is a lifeblood to her educational opportunity to make a better life," he said. "That's why we're here today. We're here to make our city stronger, our county stronger, and those individuals: Fathers that can get back and forth. Mothers who can be there."
Marvn also praised the cross-political party teamwork of the Monon effort when introducing the next speaker, U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. "He's competitive, but he works in a bipartisan way every day."
Yakym seconded that. "Yes, [Marvn and I] may not agree on some things, but we do agree that growth for the Hoosier State is a good thing, and when we find ways to work together, we certainly do."
Gov. Braun, who grew up in downstate Jasper, has a folksy demeanor. "What a day," he said at the end of the presentation. "Music to my ears when I hear something comes in under budget." Audience members applauded.
Let's switch to gallery mode for images from the first train run to Munster/Dyer Station, with a few quotes in the captions.
A video of leaving Hammond Gateway Station on the way to the Munster/Dyer stop.
Check out FAQs about the Monon Line here.
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– John Greenfield, editor
