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Page 43
Suggested Citation:"South Shore Line." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25256.
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Page 43
Page 44
Suggested Citation:"South Shore Line." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25256.
×
Page 44
Page 45
Suggested Citation:"South Shore Line." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25256.
×
Page 45
Page 46
Suggested Citation:"South Shore Line." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25256.
×
Page 46

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43 South Shore Line Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District South Bend, IN–Chicago, IL The South Shore Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD). Transportation historians recognize its service as the last remaining example of an electric interurban railway in the United States. The line connects to the Metropolitan Rail Corporation’s (Metra’s) Metra Electric District and today is a part of the national Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)–regulated freight/passenger rail network. The South Shore Line connects the South Bend International Airport in South Bend, Indiana, and Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois, across fi ve counties: St. Joseph, LaPorte, Porter, Lake, and Cook. The line operates approximately 90 miles with 19 stations. NICTD owns a fl eet of 82 electric cars built between 1982 and 2009, purchased from Sumitomo Corporation. The South Shore Line has 43 trains running per weekday and 20 trains running on the weekend as of July 2015. The South Shore Line has distinguishing and unique features, highlighting its electric interurban railway past. The line operates exclusively on electric power using overhead 3-kV direct-current catenary electric propulsion. Trains run in the middle of the street in Michigan City, Indiana, and stop in the street for a major station serving downtown Michigan City. The line has a few remaining rural fl ag stops, where passengers indicate to the engineer (for boarding) or conductor (for alighting) where they want to stop. A 10-member board of trustees governs NICTD. Two of the members are appointed by the governor of Indiana, and the others represent the four Indiana counties served by the South Shore Line. HISTORY GOVERNANCE CLS&SB began to plan a railway that ran between Chicago and South Bend. The South Shore Line service began, connecting South Bend to Michigan City and Hammond, Indiana. CLS&SB leased the tracks for the Hammond–Kensington section from the Kensington and Eastern Railroad [owned by the Illinois Central Railroad (IC)] and connected the South Shore Line with IC suburban lines (now the Metra Electric Line). C&O purchased CSS&SB, a successor of the Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway (CLS&SB), and continued its direct operation of passenger services. The State of Illinois created RTA to keep commuter rail running in the Chicago area. The Indiana General Assembly passed legislation enabling the four counties served by the South Shore Line to create NICTD. Federal grants were awarded to NICTD for new cars and for the upgrade of track and the power system. The Venango River Corporation (VRC) went bankrupt. NICTD purchased the passenger railroad assets, and APRR purchased the freight railroad assets. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) sold its railroad property in the corridor to VRC. NICTD purchased the main line track from the Anacostia and Pacifi c Railroad (APRR) and became the passenger service operator. NICTD added a morning express from South Bend to Chicago and a reverse late-night express. NICTD launched a faster morning express train, the Sunrise Express, from South Bend to downtown Chicago. 1904 1908 1909 1967 1974 1977 1979 1989 1984 1990 2009 2015

44 Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles NICTD is the sponsor and direct operator of the South Shore Line. Therefore, the agency assumes full responsibility to manage service in accordance with requirements stipulated by both FRA and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regulations; NICTD reports periodically to both agencies. NICTD funds and manages all major capital projects for the line and takes primary responsibility for emergency preparedness and service recovery, developing its own strategies to meet FTA, FRA, and state requirements. Although NICTD handles the majority of service functions and has limited outside contractors, the agency assigns internal staff to oversee all outside contracts. NICTD has sponsored the South Shore Line since 1977 and became the direct operator of passenger service in 1990 after acquisition of right-of-way from the successor of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (CSS&SB). Currently, NICTD owns the 75-mile route from the South Bend Airport Station to Kensington, Illinois. The remaining 14-mile route between Kensington/115th Street and Millennium Station is over the Metra Electric Line owned by Metra, the Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) in Chicago. NICTD entered into a trackage rights agreement (TRA) with Metra to operate over Metra-owned tracks to reach Chicago in 1991, which was extended through a series of subsequent amendments. The current TRA is renewable in 5-year increments. Similarly, NICTD maintains a station access rights agreement with Metra for the several shared intermediate stations between Kensington/115th Street and Millennium Station in downtown Chicago. NICTD employees perform the vast majority of services for the South Shore Line, including train operations, car maintenance, routine track maintenance, electric traction, and communication and signals (C&S). The limited exception is the 14-mile Metra-owned tracks. Under the TRA, Metra is responsible for track maintenance, electric traction, and C&S for that segment. PERFORMANCE STATISTICS Past Trends 2012–2016 Service Data in RY* 2016 CONTRACTED SERVICE Data source: NTD *Report year: for each report year, the National Transit Database (NTD) collects data refl ecting the reporter’s operation in the same fi scal year. Annual Operating Cost: $48,080,595 Total Directional Route Miles: 180 Passenger Car Revenue Miles: 4,233,598 Unlinked Passenger Trips: 3,504,080 Annual Total Passenger Miles: 113,035,111 Operating Cost per Passenger Car Revenue Mile Operating Cost per Passenger Passenger Trips per Passenger Car Revenue Mile Passenger Miles per Passenger Trip $11.36$11.05 $12.01 $10.57$10.79 20162015201420132012 $13.72 $12.30$12.27 $10.95$10.82 20162015201420132012 0.83 0.90 0.980.971.00 20162015201420132012 32.26 28.8028.8928.9028.90 20162015201420132012 General Contracted Service Informa on Oversight and Responsibili es

South Shore Line 45 A—Agency; B—Host Railroad (RR); C—Amtrak; D—Independent Contractors (RR or Non-RR)Notes for Matrix: 1. Services are provided through the Metra Electric Line TRA. 2. NICTD awarded a contract to Wabtec Corporation in 2016 for installation of a PTC system. 3. Local jurisdictions and Metra provide much of the security services along the Illinois portion of the line. 4. Communications and some major infrastructure improvements, including right-of-way improvement and electric traction reconstruction, may be outsourced to independent contractors. The matrix below illustrates the responsibility for major service functions for the South Shore Line. The capital letters A, B, and D represent the NICTD in-house staff (South Shore Line), the host railroad (Metra), and the independent contractors, respectively. In this case, C for Amtrak is not applicable. Contracted Service Matrix A B C D Train Operations Maintenance of Infrastructure Maintenance of Equipment Specifi cally: Train Dispatching Services (1) Train Operations Maintenance of Equipment Facilities Maintenance (1) Maintenance of Way (1) Provision of Electric Traction (1) Signals and Communication (1) Positive Train Control (PTC) Maintenance (2) Station Operations and Maintenance (1) Non-revenue Equipment Provision Safety Management (3) Security Services (3) Environmental Services Management/Oversight Services Materials Management Services Risk Management Assessment Customer Service Functions Marketing Communications (4) Ticketing/Sales Revenue Collection Information Technology Systems Accident/Fatality Investigations/Support (1) Supplemental Work (4) Other (na)

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Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles Get This Book
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TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Research Report 200: Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles describes the 31 commuter rail services in North America and the various delivery approaches, and documents a broad range of strategies and approaches for managing the operation and maintenance issues associated with the contracting of commuter rail services.

This report complements TCRP Research Report 200: Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 1: Guidebook, which provides an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of each potential approach for providing commuter rail service, including the primary functions for commuter rail delivery—train operations, dispatch, maintenance of way, and maintenance of equipment. The guidebook includes a decision tree analysis and summarizes current trends for contracting commuter rail services, along with highlighting innovative approaches for contracting transportation services.

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