Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

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MQT1223
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Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by MQT1223 »

Was just scrolling through my Facebook feed and found a report that Amtrak is closing the Michigan City Station Stop on April 4th. There was no reason given, but speculation that the double track project on the South Shore is a contributing factor.

Can anyone shed some light on this? How has the stop performed as a whole when compared to other's on the Bluewater/Wolverine route? Can the South Shore be to blame here? It does seem kind of redundant when you think about it, especially with the way NS treats the Amtrak trains on the Chicago Line.
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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by DaveO »

Reported ridership at MCI for Fiscal Year 2021 is reported as 338.
Keep in mind Michigan has to subsidize those trains. Indiana isn't.

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by Saturnalia »

It is a barely if-ever-used stop, for eastbound customers once in awhile. I’ve never seen more than one or two cars there.

Now that New Buffalo exists, it was always kinda dumb. If you’re going to Chicago, NICTD offers 15+ departures instead of a couple, and if you’re going east, the 10-minute drive to New Buffalo should suffice for the three people who wanna use the stop.

And yeah, their timekeeping sucks, largely thanks to NS, but their own equipment issues, too.
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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

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MQT1223 wrote:
Wed Mar 30, 2022 5:05 pm
Can anyone shed some light on this? How has the stop performed as a whole when compared to other's on the Bluewater/Wolverine route? Can the South Shore be to blame here? It does seem kind of redundant when you think about it, especially with the way NS treats the Amtrak trains on the Chicago Line.
Only 2,662 passengers in 2019. 2,720 passengers in 2018. Roughly 7 passengers a day.
Only Rensselaer and Connersville had less...
https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/proj ... IANA19.pdf

I also believe that a developer wants to redevelop the site with lakefront condo housing. I sent them an email and they told me they are not demolishing the nearby MC depot which was in the original plans. However, this was early in the pandemic and I am not sure if the project is dead now.

The project sign was still up in April 2021.
condo.JPG

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by GP30M4216 »

MQT do you have a source for the “report” you found?

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by justalurker66 »

100 Washington Landing website is down and so is the sign (I looked a few weeks ago).

The only blame the South Shore should get for the stop being closed is that NICTD does a MUCH better job of serving passengers in Michigan City. Amtrak didn't bother to stop most of their trains and when the pandemic hit service was reduced. I wonder about the Hammond-Whiting Amtrak stop that was rebuilt (new platform and refreshed waiting room) last year. At least someone invested money there on the train.

And for NS ... how did they accomplish this? Delaying a WB train between Dune Park and Ogden Dunes.

5:18pm CT - Train 20 is stopped just before Ogden Dunes due to a N.S. freight train interference.
5:38pm CT - Train 20 is on the move and currently running 45-60 minutes late due to a N.S. freight train.

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by justalurker66 »

As seen on Amtrak's website:

Michigan City, IN, Station Closing
Effective April 4, 2022

Effective April 4, the Michigan City, IN, station will be closed and no longer served by Amtrak.

More frequent Amtrak service is available in New Buffalo, approximately 15 minutes east, along with free parking and trains on both our Wolverine and Blue Water routes, sponsored by the Michigan Department of Transportation.

New Buffalo Station:
226 N. Whittaker Street
New Buffalo, MI 49117

Alternate service to and from Chicago is available through the South Shore Line (NICTD) commuter rail from the Beverly Shores or Carroll Avenue stops. Visit www.mysouthshoreline.com/ for more information.

(I found it by searching for a trip from Michigan City to Chicago prior to April 4th and clicking on the service alert icon.)

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by Saturnalia »

justalurker66 wrote:
Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:57 pm
And for NS ... how did they accomplish this? Delaying a WB train between Dune Park and Ogden Dunes.

5:18pm CT - Train 20 is stopped just before Ogden Dunes due to a N.S. freight train interference.
5:38pm CT - Train 20 is on the move and currently running 45-60 minutes late due to a N.S. freight train.
The NS was occupying the crossing at Hillcrest Road, which also activates the SSL crossing via the interlock. Train 20 was being bussed to Ogden Dunes, and therefore the busses could not enter the parking lot to drop off their passengers to the waiting train while the NS had the crossing occupied.

Why was 20 bussed to Ogden Dunes? Well they are typically scheduled to meet the hotshot Train 11 on the double track there. With bussing regularly delaying the train's departure from Dune Park by 10-20 minutes, it would cause Train 11 to be held up as well. So, they've taken to bussing Train 20 to Ogden Dunes versus Dune Park, so that 11 won't take delay from 20. It's important that Train 11 get to Dune Park on time, as it is a popular train as an express with stops only at Van Buren, East Chicago, Dune Park and South Bend. Train 20's crew is now advanced ahead of the bussing to get the trainset ready at Dune Park and depart to meet the busses at Ogden Dunes.
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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by justalurker66 »

Thanks for the explanation.

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by Saturnalia »

justalurker66 wrote:
Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:57 pm
I wonder about the Hammond-Whiting Amtrak stop that was rebuilt (new platform and refreshed waiting room) last year. At least someone invested money there on the train.
The Hammond-Whiting stop is not in a great spot at all for most people in the area, and is so underserved that it should be no wonder why it sees little use. It's only true utility would be as a stop for the East Coast trains (so those going to/from the east don't have to detour via Union Station), but those don't stop so it's kinda pointless.

Like Michigan City, Hammond/Whiting are much better served by NICTD. Same goes with Gary and honestly to a great extent even South Bend. For instance, Amtrak Train 30 is carded for 89 minutes from CHI to SOB, whereas the fastest NICTD Train between the two cities, Express No. 11, is carded for 118 minutes. However, given NS' abysmal dispatching performance these days, there are a lot of days with run time for NICTD 11 being less than AMTK 30, and that's even including NICTD's long, slow slog along Bendix to the Airport.

Getting back to the original subject, Amtrak #355 is carded for a 63-minute runtime from Michigan City to Chicago Union Station. Most NICTD trains are carded for a 100-minute (give or take) runtime from Michigan City to Millennium. However, AM Rush Hour Train 106 runs from Carroll to Millennium in only 88 minutes, by shaving off some stops.

But, NICTD also runs 27 daily trains with service to Carroll Ave, and it gets a lot more interesting once you consider fares. Right now, I can book a coach seat on #355 (the only westbound Amtrak service MCI) for $17. For the same trip, NICTD only charges $10.25 for a single-ride, on way trip. Comparing South Bend service, a coach seat 2 weeks out goes for $20 on Trains 29 or 49, but NICTD charges only $14.25 for a one-way trip. Also, the South Shore provides 8 daily trains to/from Chicago versus four, and that includes midday and counter-peak service.

Also, no need to reserve a seat on NICTD, the train basically can't sell out and the fares don't go up as you get closer to departure time!
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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

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Saturnalia wrote:
Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:31 pm
The Hammond-Whiting stop is not in a great spot at all for most people in the area, and is so underserved that it should be no wonder why it sees little use.
I can’t imagine that they invested a cent into the station based on current ridership and service levels. I am guessing the only reason the upgrades were performed was to satisfy the ADA settlement requirements. But that is pure speculation on my part. I have no evidence.

I read somewhere that NS really dislikes this station—the need to cross trains over to the correct track to stop, having stopped trains on such a busy line and so on. That is why the number of trains serving it has gotten smaller and smaller. Location aside, it’s a vicious cycle. Fewer trains, fewer riders. Fewer riders, fewer trains.

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by justalurker66 »

At least Hammond has a walkway to Track 2 ... and three main line tracks past the station. If they can't get Amtrak to track 1 they have to take track 1 out of service for the walkway to be used.

In South Bend there is a full platform on the wrong side of the tracks and when track 2 is used NS takes track 1 out of service.
In Elkhart there is no walkway. This week (for the first time since the rebuild) NS didn't leave track 1 available so Amtrak ended up stopping at a nearby road crossing (messy).
There is a walkway in Waterloo - which is good because if Track 1 was required a train could tie up 19 miles of railroad running against the normal direction (although all of the NS main line is bi-directional).

Lately NS has been parking a lot of trains on the main line ... which can make it a single track railroad.

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by GP30M4216 »

I've never been able to figure out who Amtrak's ideal Michigan City customer was - Only three trains stop there - 350 EB at 7:53am, 354 EB at 6:52pm, and 355 WB at 9:14pm, according to the most recent trackwork-adjusted schedule. So early morning to Detroit, evening from Detroit, and evening from Chicago, but no earlier trip into Chicago. I can't imagine too many passengers from MCI and vicinity have a reason to go into Michigan, but they might be interested to connect with the rest of the Amtrak network at Chicago, but the late night train 355 arrival means you connect with nothing. I suppose MDOT pushed to not have 365 stop there for the benefit of the Michigan clientele they are underwriting, but since 351 is "express" after Kalamazoo (also for the benefit of Michigan customers), a morning inbound to Chicago seems like it might benefit Amtrak in the long haul with additional dollars someone might spend connecting to another LD route. On the flipside, someone from Michigan might actually consider taking the train down to MCI to hit the outlets, maybe a boat ride on the lake, and a brewery, before heading back on 354 - but that was never an option in recent times.

Yep, you can certainly take CSS into Chicago, because it's meant to be a commuter train into the city. That's pretty much its sole purpose. Amtrak really isn't meant to be used that way. You could take CSS into Chicago with the intention of going beyond on Amtrak, but now you need to find your own way from Millennium or Randolph over to Union - not far, but not close, either, especially with baggage.

The timing of this whole thing strikes me as odd - I am positive at some point in the past when CSS had a long term shutdown project underway Amtrak actually added train stops at MCI among some of the other Amtraks which pass through in order to "cover the loss" of CSS in the interim. Apparently that way of thinking has hit the bumping post.

Yep, ridership is low. That's what happens when only three of eight trains stop. As was pointed out, New Buffalo is 15 minutes up the tracks and 7 of 8 trains stop there, and its ridership is significantly better. Also, don't forget that during the days of just 351 and 352 running the Michigan Line during the depths of COVID, no trains stopped at MCI (or Hammond-Whiting, for that matter). Hard to generate any ridership, or revenue, when no trains stop.

When the New Buffalo stop was on the Pere Marquette, the MCI stop on the Wolverine route made more sense. With New Buffalo just up the pike on what is now the same route, this station really doesn't make a lot of sense, since neither the city nor Amtrak invested money or interest in growing, let alone sustaining, this service stop.

My sense of loss for MCI is almost more about the history. It's a neat little early 20th Century MCRR depot. An extensive amount of brick paver platform and parking lot are still present. The old Monon rails through the driveway. A couple old long out of service code line poles. You just don't find those authentic details at many places anymore.

No one will be surprised to hear I'm glad 100 Washington project seems to be totally dead in the water. Michigan City has other waterfront land that could be used for pricey highrises. Perhaps the loss of actual passenger service here will somehow inspire a redevelopment of the property that honors and uses the depot in some way, and doesn't just send it to a landfill.

When the condo project was first announced, I did some survey photography of the depot and local environment in February of 2020. You can check out those photos and some discussion of the history here: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=37065&p=429181#p429181
Last edited by GP30M4216 on Tue Apr 12, 2022 10:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by GP30M4216 »

For the benefit of posterity, here's the entry for Michigan City from the Great American Stations project website, in case it is some day taken down:

---
The Amtrak stop in Michigan City consists of a concrete platform and a shelter adjacent to the former Michigan Central Railroad (MCRR) depot. Built in 1915, the prairie-style brick building has a hipped roof and wide eaves and now houses a restaurant.

The first passenger depot was built here in the 1850s, across the tracks from the MCRR depot. It was in front of this first depot that Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train stopped on May 1, 1865, under a memorial arch constructed for the occasion. The second MCRR depot, approximately on the site of the current building, burned in 1914.

A large freight house and passenger depot built for the Monon Railroad stood a block further west across Franklin Street, and at the harbor on the east side of Franklin Street stood a large complex of engine repair shops, turntable and roundhouse of the MCRR. Once a familiar landmark in the city, the shops were built in 1851-52. The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places until it was demolished in 1978.

Sited on Lake Michigan at the mouth of Trail Creek in the Indiana sand dune region, Michigan City was surveyed as early as 1828 with an eye to developing a commercial harbor and city as well as a road inland to transport supplies to homesteaders in central Indiana. In 1830, Crawfordsville developer Isaac C. Elston purchased 160 acres at the mouth of Trail Creek, and the town was named for the road leading up to Lake Michigan. By 1836, Michigan City incorporated, having grown to quite a large town in the midst of relative wilderness.

The harbor was not truly usable by most ships until the late 19th century—preference being given to Chicago as a potential harbor. Still, some goods were ferried to ships on the lake. Aside from its role as a transport junction, the creek afforded the city a good location for lumber and grist mills for the grain and wood brought for shipping. Once the railroad arrived, however, it eventually supplanted shipping as a means of transport to market. Nonetheless, Michigan City is home of the Old Michigan City Light, one of Indiana’s few lighthouses.

In 1852, the firm of Haskell, Barker and Aldridge built a major factory to manufacture railroad freight cars. This became Michigan City’s largest and longest-lived industry, at one time building as many as 10,000 cars annually, and employing more than 3,500 workers. In 1922, Pullman-Standard purchased Haskell-Barker. The plant manufactured Pullman sleeping cars for Allied troops during World War II. The factory finally closed in the 1970s; in 1973, most of the 100-acre plant burned. Since then, that area has been cleared and redeveloped.

Once a famous Indiana landmark, a sand dune called Hoosier Slide rose 175 feet above Michigan City and the surrounding low-lying countryside. At one time mantled with trees, cow paths marked its slopes and people picnicked on its crest. The timber was eventually cut for building the city across the creek and until the late 1800s it was a popular recreation spot. About 1890 it was discovered that the clean sands of the Hoosier Slide were ideal for glassmaking, and over the next 30 years, 13.5 million tons of sand were shipped away from the dune until it was leveled. Much of the sand also went to Chicago as fill for Jackson Park and for the Illinois Central right-of-way. The site was acquired for an electrical generating plant in the late 1920s, which still operates.

The Chicago South Shore and South Bend (CSS&SB) Railroad’s South Shore Line, one of the last of the electrified interurban railroads, runs from Chicago’s Millennium Station to South Bend Airport., passing through Michigan City. The South Shore Line is operated today by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District and its passenger trains still share 11th Street in Michigan City with cars, trucks and pedestrians, a practice known as “street-running.”

Today, Michigan City is still a destination for visitors to the lakefront Washington Park and beaches with their “singing sands,” as well as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park. Visitors also come for boating and sport fishing—salmon and trout were successfully introduced into the lake in the 1970s—the Blue Chip Casino riverboat (the largest such in Indiana), and the Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets shopping mall.
https://www.greatamericanstations.com/s ... ty-in-mci/

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by NS3322 »

GP30M4216 wrote:
Tue Apr 12, 2022 10:54 pm
For the benefit of posterity, here's the entry for Michigan City from the Great American Stations project website, in case it is some day taken down:
aaaand it's gone....
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Wayback Machine archive:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210204160 ... ty-in-mci/

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Re: Michigan City Amtrak Station to close on April 4th

Unread post by justalurker66 »

What Amtrak Michigan City stop? :wink:

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