SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A study of a new rail alignment to South Bend’s airport will include freight considerations as well as service by South Shore commuter trains.
The St. Joseph County board of commissioners approved $119,000 on Wednesday for a study of different options to provide a more direct rail route to the airport, the South Bend Tribune reports. South Shore commuter trains currently take a slow, circuitous route to reach the airport, which serves as the rail line’s eastern terminal.
The study, by South Bend engineering firm DLZ Inc., will look at a possible route that could be used by both South Shore and freight trains, which would serve a planned rail-to-air logistics park. It will also look at a freight-only option, if South Shore service relocates to a downtown station under consideration by the city of South Bend. [See “South Bend Oks preliminary work on downtown South Shore station,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 21, 2018.]
The study is expected to be complete in 90 days.
