GARY – Twenty years from now, perhaps, passenger trains will make 10 daily trips from Chicago to Detroit, with stops in Northwest Indiana along the way, and move riders between the two major cities in less than four hours, at speeds of 110 mph.
An environmental impact statement on the plan to increase passenger rail service between those two points is up for comment in the three states along the route in the coming days, with a meeting in Gary on Thursday.
The plan, being spearheaded by the Michigan Department of Transportation with assistance from its counterparts in Illinois and Indiana, calls for using existing Amtrak lines from the Detroit/Pontiac area to Porter.
That’s where things get sticky. Representatives from MDOT said there’s no dedicated track from Porter to Chicago that’s suitable, so the environmental impact statement, or EIS, looks at four alternatives for getting a track that would work for the project, including using existing but abandoned rail corridors.
According to an executive summary of the EIS, the project would be complete by 2035, and would involve the addition of another train station in Northwest Indiana. The cost of the project would be between $2.37 billion and $2.98 billion, depending on which option is selected, and annual maintenance and operation costs for the 300-mile route would be almost $160 million.
The idea is to identify ways to increase train speed and increase train service from Chicago to Detroit/Pontiac, said Will Wingfield, a spokesman with INDOT.
“It’s ultimately a look to the long-term goal of high-speed rail, and that’s what this discusses,” he said, adding the rail line, which includes a spur from Detroit to Pontiac, is a preliminary step in that process.
Dennis Hodges, a Gary resident and vice president of business relations for the Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance, said his organization has been adamant about having the Gary/Chicago International Airport as a stop for the rail line, which would make Gary the second largest transportation hub in the Midwest, behind Chicago.
“We’re stepping up our education to inform the traveling public that rail needs to be part of the transportation mix in Indiana and the Midwest,” Hodges said.
His group worked with INDOT a few years ago to secure $71 million for the Porter to Chicago line as part of the Chicago to Detroit project.
The project started in 2011 with scoping meetings to determine alternatives for the Porter to Chicago portion of the route, said Mohammed Alghurabi, a project manager with MDOT.
There’s a busy Norfolk Southern Corp. line between those two points, but no dedicated line for passenger service, he said. Initial discussion included 80 alternatives for that route, which were winnowed down to the four that are being considered now.
The EIS looks at environmental, social and economic impacts of each choice, and the hearing – similar meetings are being held next week in Chicago and Dearborn, Mich. – give all the players involved, including the public, the chance to have input.
“The comments are so important as we go into the process to narrow the alternatives to one,” Alghurabi said, adding that step could be complete next spring.
The project would not take anything away from existing commuter service, he added, and would allow the number of passenger trains to jump from three to 10 a day.
Hodges agreed, and said passenger rail could work here just as well, or better, than it does in Europe and Asia, but getting that message across hasn’t been easy because Indiana is more of a “concrete state” tied to its highways.
“I’m glad to see Michigan take a lead in this,” he said. “It’s an important step in the proposal to get trains back on track, if you will.”