ALL INDIANA ABOARD The Official Newsletter of the Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance Volume 1, Number 9 September 2014 Indy Plans Millions To Repair Union IN THIS ISSUE: Station; Bus-Rail Station’s Future Cloudy Page Two In an announcement Indy Changes Its Mind; on August 20, the City Hoosier State To Continue of Indianapolis re- through January leased its long- South Bend Airport Offers awaited report on Un- One-Stop Bus/Rail/Plane ion Station and the Connections Amtrak-Greyhound Bicentennial History Train bus station (i.e. the Tours the State this Fall train shed structure which includes the Page Three Crowne Plaza Hotel Amtrak Thruways Bus Allows and other facilities). Rail Connections Without Going to Chicago The report was pre- News, Briefly Stated pared by the architec- Indy’s Union station has been in a state of disrepair for quite tural firm of Browning some time; it will need $3.7 million in immediate repairs. Day Mullins Dierdorf. Page Four It identified numerous problems, including a south wall failure on December Krause’s Korner: Northbound 20, 2012. A train loading study was also done. Concrete platforms have occa- Hoosier State Best in On- sionally dropped concrete from overhead, including at the Amtrak/Greyhound Time Performance station. Steel mesh is being installed to protect pedestrians and autos from Indiana Still Highway-Bound falling concrete and also temporary shoring has been placed in the waiting area of the transportation center (a.k.a. Amtrak/Greyhound waiting area). Ac- Page Five cording to media reports, the city plans to spend $3.7 million to fix pressing Restored Union Stations in structural problems. A total of $6.8 million in spending was identified. Denver and St. Paul WTHR’s Mary Milz reported that the City is considering the possibility of sell- ing the Greyhound/Amtrak terminal to Greyhound or closing it. Milz’s report Page Six noted that the City spends $2.3 million a year to operate the facility. However, For More Information Adam D. Thies, Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development for the City of Indianapolis told All Aboard Indiana, ―No ideas are final about Un- ion Station other than us wanting to address some immediate structural issues that we have discussed. As you well know, there are lots of moving parts and we are trying to understand each one as best as possible.‖ Join us on Facebook: Hoosiers for Passenger Rail Visit us on the web: www.indianahighspeedrail.org PAGE 2: ALL ABOARD INDIANA SEPTEMBER 2014 trak/Bus station), ride to the South Bend airport, and Indy Changes Its Mind; then take the South Shore Line to Chicago. Hoosier State To Continue South Bend Airport doubles as the final stop on the through January South Shore Line. Also available is regional bus service The four-day-a-week Indy-Chicago train—the Hoosier (Greyhound, Trailways, Miller/Hoosier Ride, and Coach State—was spared a possible October 1 shut down as USA). Travelers can take a bus to O’Hare, Midway Air- INDOT reached an agreement with Indianapolis to con- port, Indianapolis, and other cities. Also at the airport is tinue subsidizing the train. The City had initially balked a city bus stop for Transpo (www.sbtranspo.com). at a continued subsidy. Parking is convenient and economical—just $1 for the 18 This means the communities of Indianapolis, Craw- -hour lot and $8 per day at the economy lot. Though fordsville, Rensselaer, Lafayette, West Lafayette, Tippe- two Amtrak routes serve the city, the Amtrak station is canoe County and Beech Grove will continue to subsi- not at the South Bend Airport. Amtrak is located at dize 50% of the cost of the service through Jan. 31, 2702 West Washington. 2015. (Indiana is the only state to require local com- munities to fund passenger rail service.) To plan your South Shore trip, go to www.nictd.com. For the Miller Bus to Indy, call 800-544-2383. INDOT said it is also negotiating with Corridor Capital LLC to improve the service and its funding model by the end of the contract extension in January. Bicentennial History Train IPRA sent Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard a letter on Tours the State This Fall August 14 urging continued city support for the Hoo- By Amy Lamb, Indiana Historical Society sier State. We also met with Indy’s Department of Pub- lic Works on August 21. IPRA met with the City on This month, the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) will kick Thursday, August 21 to thank them for continuing the off the 2014 run of the Indiana Bicentennial Train. support of the train until January. A unique collaboration with The Indiana Rail Road Company and Norfolk Southern Corporation, the Bi- Given the low ridership and poor performance of the centennial Train will visit train, the City noted that some questioned the need Columbus: Sept. 18-20, Bartholomew County Fair- for any subsidy for the service. grounds Jasper: Sept. 25-27, Train Depot Terre Haute: Oct. 2-4, Margaret Avenue just west of South Bend Airport Offers One- 3rd Street Bargersville: Oct. 9-11, Downtown Stop Bus/Rail/Plane Connections; New Freeway Offers Indy Travelers Originally known as the Indiana History Train, the Indi- ana Bicentennial Train has welcomed more than 71,000 New Rail Option to Chicago visitors in its six years of travel. It consists (continued) With the completion of U.S. 31 between Plymouth and South Bend and the Kokomo bypass as a freeway (and the Carmel construction to upgrade that section), cen- tral Indiana travelers have a new way to get to Chicago by rail. They can drive the 138 miles to the South Bend Airport (which is now or will soon be a freeway for much of the way) and take the South Shore Line to Chicago. Better yet, take the Miller Bus from Indy (board at Am- The Indiana Bicentennial Train rolls across the state. (Photo courtesy Indiana Historical Society) PAGE 3: ALL ABOARD INDIANA SEPTEMBER 2014 (―Bicentennial Train‖ To St. Louis: Leave at 7:30 a.m. or 12:50 p.m. and continued from connect via BNL (ask at BNL to be put on an page 2) of three 65- earlier train) foot renovated Am- To Denver: Leave at 7:30 a.m. and connect via GBB trak freight cars and To Springfield: Leave at 7:30 a.m. or 12:50 p.m. and features a free trav- connect via BNL (ask at BNL to be put on an eling exhibition, The earlier train) Next Indiana. To Carbondale: Leave at 12:50 p.m. and connect at CHM The Bicentennial Train and its accompanying activities To New Orleans: Leave at 12:50 p.m. and connect are all free and open to the public, operating 9 a.m. to via CHM (or drive to Effingham, IL and board 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on there—just 2 hours from Indy) Saturday. You can get on board the train cars and see the exhibition, connect with your community’s history, All of these options avoid going up to Chicago at 6 enjoy performances by historical actor Kevin Stonercok, a.m. Unfortunately, the connection times are very long. and shop the Basile History Market. However, this is daily service not threatened by the Hoosier State funding issue. Also, when coming from The Bicentennial Train will run each fall for two more Chicago, you can connect to a Thruways bus to go years, culminating with the state’s bicentennial in 2016. back to Indy. Leave Chicago at 4 p.m. and you actually Local volunteers are still needed for each stop, and arrive earlier than the Hoosier State. several time slots are available. To sign up, or for more information, call (317) 232-1882 or visit www.indianahistory.org/train. Support for the 2014 Indiana Bicentennial Train is pro- vided by The Indiana Rail Road Company, Norfolk Southern Corporation and Kroger, in partnership with the Indiana Bicentennial Commission and Indiana Hu- manities. Amtrak’s Thruways buses provide additional options for Amtrak Thruway Bus Allows connections. Rail Connections Without Going to Chicago News, Briefly Stated Hate the 6 a.m. departure to Chicago from Indy? We have two daily Amtrak Thruway bus options. Take a The Hoosier Environmental Council had a forum on the 7:30 a.m. or 12:50 p.m. Amtrak Thruway Trailways bus Hoosier State/Union station issue on August 29. De- instead and connect to Amtrak trains in one of three tails in our October issue and at Hoosiers for Passen- central Illinois stations: Champaign Urbana (CHM), ger Rail on Facebook. Bloomington Normal (BNL), or Galesburg (GBB). If you are going St. Louis or Springfield (IL), ask Amtrak The Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association to put you on an earlier train. (Otherwise the connec- (NIPRA) in partnership with the City of Fort Wayne tion times are very long.) and our other Indiana and Ohio partners is currently writing a grant for approximately $2.6 million to the Here are some sample trips from Indianapolis using the FRA to fund a TIER I EIS study on the proposed Amtrak Thruway Bus operated by Trailways: higher speed rail line from Chicago-Fort Wayne- To Los Angeles: Leave 7:30 a.m. and connect via Columbus, Ohio. INDOT has agreed to serve as the GBB prime sponsor for this grant. The grant will be sub- To Dallas: Leave 7:30 a.m. and connect via BNL mitted by INDOT to the Federal Rail (continued) PAGE 4: ALL ABOARD INDIANA SEPTEMBER 2014 (―News‖ continued from page 3) Administration on or Train Name and Distance 2013 before September 15, 2014.