South Bend Airport station

South Bend Airport
A South Shore Line train at South Bend Airport (2004)
Location	4485 Progress Drive South Bend, Indiana
Coordinates	41°42′03″N 86°18′40″W / 41.7008°N 86.3110°W / 41.7008; -86.3110Coordinates: 41°42′03″N 86°18′40″W / 41.7008°N 86.3110°W / 41.7008; -86.3110
Owned by	NICTD
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Transpo
Construction
Parking	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	11
History
Opened	November 20, 1992
Electrified	Yes (1500 V DC)
Passengers
2015	185 (average weekday)[1]
Services
Preceding station NICTD Following station Hudson Lake toward Millennium Station South Shore Line Terminus New Carlisle Closed 1994 toward Millennium Station

Interior view of the island platform of the South Bend Airport train station (2012)

South Bend Airport is a commuter train station on, and the eastern terminus of, the South Shore Line. Servicing South Bend International Airport, the station is 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Downtown South Bend, Indiana. In November 1992, the Airport station replaced the South Shore Line's former terminus at the South Bend Amtrak Station. The new station was constructed at a cost of $1.8 million and dedicated on November 20, 1992.

The station has a ticket office and a waiting room. Because the station is incorporated into the South Bend International Airport building, riders can also take advantage of its extensive lounging areas, shops and a meditation room.

Until November 27, 2009, most eastbound weekend South Shore Line trains terminated at this station. Since then, those trips have been cut in half, creating much larger gaps in service, to improve on-time performance for South Shore trains, which had suffered because the section of the line between Michigan City and South Bend is almost entirely single-tracked. Thus, if the westbound train got delayed, the eastbound train would get delayed even more because it will need to wait for the westbound train to clear the track.^[2]

History[]

Plans to move the South Shore Line station to the airport, creating an air, bus, and rail intermodal terminal, had dated back to the mid-1970s by the airport authority.^[3][4][5][6] In fact, plans to move the South Shore Line station there began to be formulated very shortly after the South Shore Line moved away from its stop in the city's downtown, which required street running, and into a newly constructed station.^[6][7]

There was talk in the 1980s, for the South Shore Line to stop at the Union Station in downtown South Bend, either instead of or in addition to stopping at the airport.^[8]

By 1989, the area surrounding the location of the South Bend's South Shore Line station that had been opened in the 1970s had come to be seen as an unsafe and isolated part of town.^[9][10] At this point, discussions had been ongoing about relocating the station to the station to the airport for over a decade, but had been stalled by disagreement over the route that the train should take to get to the airport.^[11] In 1989 the Venango River Corp., the parent company of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend, went bankrupt, and NICTD became the owner and operator of the South Shore Line.^[7] Venango's owner was said to have supported moving the station to the airport, but was also said to have championed having it take a route that would run through the Ardmore neighborhood of South Bend, approaching the airport from its west.^[7] In 1989, NICTD recommended moving the station to the airport, to provide what they believed would be a safer station at a more appealing location and with a large amount of available parking.^[10]

Train at the station's platform in 2006

There was hope that moving the station to the airport would position passenger air service at the airport as an alternative for northwest Indiana residents (an area also served by the South Shore Line) to Chicago's airports Midway and O'Hare.^[12]

The station was built at the end of what started out as Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad's freight spur.^[13] The opening of a new station at the airport came on November 20, 1992.^[6] Approximately 200 people attended the opening ceremony.^[12] The new station cost $1.8 million, with NICTD paying approximately $1 million of the cost, and the rest being paid by the airport authority.^[6] The station was originally an open platform, but, as was planned from its initial construction,^[14] was later covered soon after with the construction of a new passenger terminal addition connected to the station.^{[citation needed]} From its opening, the station has been accessible to those with disabilities.^[15]

At the time of the opening, sources for NICTD claimed that the station made the airport only the second airport in the United States to be served by a commuter railroad.^[6]

Connections[]

Bus[]

Transpo

• Route 4: Lincoln Way West/Airport

Coach USA

• Tri State/United Limo routes

Exploration of replacement options[]

There is a possibility that the station may be relocated or replaced.

Since 2006,^[16] plans had been made to explore relocating the station to the west end of the airport in order to potentially cut travel time along the South Shore Line by as much as 10 minutes by having trains approach the airport from the west with a shorter traveling distance and decreased number of at-grade crossings (as few as 7 grade crossings, as opposed to the 23 in the current east approach to the airport).^{[17][18][19][20][21]} Plans exist by St. Joseph County to construct a rail spur to this area of the airport exist with the aim of also fostering the creation of an intermodal rail-air freight hub at the airport.^[17][18][22] The current route that carries the South Shore Line to its existing station is considered slow and circuitous.^[23] As of 2013, this had been originally estimated to cost $15 million.^[19][24] This plan faced local opposition from residents of the Ardmore neighborhood of South Bend, after it was proposed that the new tracks approaching a station there would travel through the neighborhood and displace as many as forty households there.^[25] Locally preferred alternatives have been presented to this plan, including one in which a new station would instead be located on Honeywell Corporation property at Westmoor Street west of Bendix Drive (along existing South Shore Line tracks).^[25][20] In 2017, South Bend's redevelopment commission voted to spend $25 million in tax increment financing funds to build a new station.^[16]

A downtown station could be located adjacent to, if not integrated into, the existing South Bend Transpo South Street Station

Beginning in August 2018, South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg advocated to locate a new South Shore Line station in South Bend's downtown.^[17][26] Such a station would be located near Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium and the Union Station Technology Center.^[17][20] It could be adjacent to, if not integrated into, the existing South Bend Transpo South Street Station.^[27] When it was built in 1998, South Street Station had been constructed with its passenger facilities near abutting train tracks with an eye towards a future passenger rail component.^[28] Buttigieg expressed hope that a downtown South Shore Line station could be completed by 2025.^[18][26] It is likely that, if constructed, a downtown South Bend station would supplant the existing airport station.^[18] Before advocating a downtown station, Buttigieg had previously been supportive of plans to relocate the station to the west side of the airport.^[22] NICTD president Mike Nolan expressed that the west side of the airport was more easily attainable in the short-term than a downtown station.^[29]

2018 study of five possible locations[]

The existing South Bend Amtrak station (previously used by the South Shore Line before its current station was built) was studied as a potential site for the station's relocation

In 2018, Mayor Buttigieg ordered a study of five possible locations for a new station serving South Bend.^[25] The five locations being explored are the aforementioned west airport relocation, downtown station, and Honeywell Corporation sites as well a site in the southwest quadrant of the U.S. 20 and U.S. 31 interchange which is also the location of a proposed South Bend Chocolate Factory tourist destination, and the existing South Bend Amtrak station.^[20][30] The study also explored the impact of retaining the existing station instead of constructing a new one.^[30] The report was published in April 2018.^[20]

The study found that, indeed, any relocation would decrease the travel time, with the fastest train to Millennium Station if the existing station is retained being 115 minutes, whilst all other station options would have the fastest train to Millennium station be between 82 and 84 minutes.^[30] The fastest train from Millennium Station if the existing station is retained will be 118 minutes, whilst for all other options it would be between 90 and 92 minutes.^[30]

The costs to build each new station option were estimated by the study. A new west airport station was found to cost $29.5 million, a downtown station was found to cost $102.3 million, the Honeywell Corporation site was found to cost $23.9 million, the chocolate factory site was found to cost $44.3 million, and the Amtrak station was found to cost $31.7 million.^[30]

The potential ten-year economic impact of each station option was studied. Retaining the existing station could still generate $39 million in economic impact. The new west airport station could generate $83.8 million, a downtown station could generate $415.3 million, the Honeywell Corporation site could generate either $171.5 million (if mixed-use development is built around it) or $132 million (if industrial development is built around it), the chocolate factory site could generate $144.4 million, and the Amtrak station could generate $139.7 million.^[30]

Projected travel times and boardings[]

Costs[]

Potential development around stations[]

Other criteria[]

Subsequent developments[]

By August 2018, both Buttigieg and NICTD president Mike Noland had publicly declared their belief that the Honeywell Corporation site, chocolate factory site, and Amtrak site were eliminated from further consideration.^[16]

In December 2018, an engineering study was commissioned to further examine the cost of a downtown station.^[26] This $180,000 study was not made available to the public, until March 2021, when, after a public record request, it was released to the South Bend Tribune.^[22] The study showed that rerouting South Shore Line trains into the city's downtown would require numerous properties to be acquired, the city's Amtrak station to be relocated, two structures at a public housing complex to be demolished, and a soccer field at the Salvation Army Kroc Center to be demolished.^[22]

In their 2019 capital plan, NICTD set aside $30 million for a relocation of the station and track realignment.^[31]

The Federal Aviation Administration has not given permission for the routing of tracks and overhead catenary through a protected area near South Bend International Airport's runway. Such permission would be required for the proposed location on the west side of the airport.^[22]

A $119,000 study by St. Joseph County revived a plan from the mid-2000s that would see trackage to a new station on the west side of the airport taking a path farther west than the path which had faced community opposition. Under this plan, tracks would be located between Oak and Butternut roads. The result of the study has not been released by the county.^[22]

A decision regarding the future of South Bend's South Shore Line station was originally anticipated to be made at some point in 2020.^[32] No such decision came. In March 2021, it was reported by the South Bend Tribune that community leaders had not yet reached a consensus as to where to build a new South Shore Line station.^[22]

While the 2018 estimate had been that a downtown station would cost $102 million, the most recent estimates are over $112 million. Some cost projections are as high as nearly $200 million.^[22] Some St. Joseph County officials, such as St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners president Andy Kostielney, have come out in opposition to a downtown station due to its cost.^[22] The county has continued to officially prefer the west airport option. However, this could cost more than $50 million, and South Bend mayor James Mueller (Buttigieg's successor) has remained tepid towards contributing funding to a new station on the west side of the airport without first hearing a persuasive case that a freight complex there would have strong economic benefit.^[22] Mueller has also stated that he believes the cost projections of both the downtown and west airport options have increased to such a point that neither is realistic without financial support from federal or state sources.^[22] There has been speculation as to whether Buttigieg, now United States Secretary of Transportation, would be hesitant to make federal funding available to the project, out of fear of the appearance of favoritism to his hometown.^[22]

If the station remains at the airport, there are plans to run shuttle trains between Michigan City, Indiana and the station, in order to encourage use of the airport. These trains will run in addition to the existing trains that run to/from Chicago.^[33]

References[]

External links[]

• Media related to South Bend Airport train station at Wikimedia Commons
• South Shore Line - Stations
• South Bend Regional Airport^{[permanent dead link]}