SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District has reached an agreement that would allow it to build a new, shorter route into South Bend International Airport, a move that could cut up to 15 minutes off travel times for South Shore Line commuter trains serving the facility.
Inside Indiana Business reports that after almost three years of negotiations, the NICTD and airport authority have reached an agreement for an easement for a route to the airport’s west side, replacing the current, circuitous path to a station on the east side of the airport terminal. The rail agency would acquire the easement through an appraisal process; the move will also require aprpoival of the Federal Aviation Administration. NICTD will also pay the airport $25,000 per year to use some of its terminal space as a waiting room. Until the move is complete, NICTD will pay the airport $75,000 a year to continue running on the current route.
The agreement runs for 50 years with options for two 25-year extensions. It also allows the airport to relocate the South Shore waiting area if service drops below 14 trains a week. Currently, the South Shore operates six round trips daily between the airport and Chicago.
Two years ago, the project was estimated to cost $50 million to $75 million [see “Plan to move South Shore station …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 2, 2022]. NICTD President Mike Noland told a board meeting last week that the project faced some funding urgency: “There’s still money left in the current Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the current Surface Transportation Act,” he said. “We can’t wait anymore. If we’re going to fund this project, now is the time to go after those federal dollars.”
More information on the project is available here.
