Hammond Gateway station

Hammond Gateway station is a South Shore Line station in Hammond, Indiana. It is intended to serve as the interchange point to the Monon Corridor,^[3] which is expected to open to revenue service in 2025.^[4] Hammond Gateway station opened on October 18, 2024; the previous Hammond station, located nearby, was closed on the same day.

Hammond Gateway
Hammond Gateway station, with the future Monon Corridor in the background (June 2024)
General information
Location	4530 Sheffield Avenue[1] Hammond, Indiana
Coordinates	41.631047°N 87.521384°W / 41.631047; -87.521384
Owned by	NICTD
Platforms	1 island platform, 1 side platform
Tracks	3[2]
Construction
Structure type	At-grade and elevated
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	October 18, 2024; 23 days ago (2024-10-18)
Electrified	Overhead line, 1,500 V DC
Services
Preceding station NICTD Following station Hegewisch toward Millennium Station South Shore Line East Chicago toward South Bend Airport
Future services
Preceding station NICTD Following station Terminus Monon Corridor South Hammond toward Munster/Dyer Main Street Hegewisch toward Millennium Station Monon Corridor peak hours
Track layout Legend to Millennium Station Illinois Indiana 1, 2: New routes 3: Former route Monon Corridor to Munster/Dyer Main Street   Sheffield Ave. former station building to South Bend Airport This diagram: view talk edit
Location

Layout and services

Hammond Gateway station features three tracks — two for the original South Shore Line and one for the future Monon Corridor. An island platform between the rerouted main line tracks replaced the side platforms on the old Hammond station; a side platform will serve the Monon Corridor at an elevated single-track railroad. The two platforms will be connected via a pedestrian walkway.^[2]

Monon Corridor trains are planned to either continue to Millennium Station at peak service hours or terminate here as short turns at other times, with transfers available on the main line platform.^[5][6]

History

Original station

A train stopping at Hammond, c. August 1980, as seen before modernization

Originally, South Shore Line trains called at a station located at 4531 Hohman Avenue, which was simply named Hammond station.^[1] It consisted of a pair of high-level platforms located between the crossings of Hohman and Johnson Avenues. The southern platform was a side platform that served eastbound trains to Michigan City and South Bend while the northern platform, situated between the two tracks, was an island platform that served westbound trains to Chicago. The tracks through the station were gauntlet tracks which permitted the passage of freight trains. A stucco-finished station building was located east of Hohman Avenue, south of the tracks. Early on, it featured a lunch counter, restrooms, a waiting room, and a staffed ticket counter.^[7] The station staff were later removed, with it instead only being equipped with a ticket machine.^[8] To the east of the station was a parking lot with capacity for 718 cars.^[8]

Later iteration of Hammond station

The station originally had ground-level platforms, but in 1998, those were replaced with high-level platforms to allow for level boarding and increased accessibility. A new station building was constructed that year.^[9] A bench and some platform pavers were salvaged from the old depot and reused to furnish the new structure.^[10]

New station

In 2017, the NICTD began demolition of houses between Hanover and Brunswick streets to begin construction of a new right-of-way and station.^[11] The City of Hammond's financial contribution to the West Lake Corridor project was dependent on construction of the new interchange station.^[2] The new station, dubbed Hammond Gateway, opened on October 18, 2024;^[12] the previous station, located 0.15 miles (0.24 km) to the east,^[6] was closed on the same day.^[1][12][13]

References

1. "South Shore Line to open new Hammond Gateway Station on Friday". WNDU. October 17, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
2. Bierschenk, Ed (July 19, 2017). "Hammond may make a new commitment to the proposed South Shore extension". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
3. Steele, Andrew (October 28, 2020). "WATCH NOW: 8-mile rail line from Hammond to Dyer is on way". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
4. "Holcomb announces construction to begin on the West Lake Corridor Project". The Crusader. October 31, 2020. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
5. Simón, Marisol R.; Noland, Michael; Federal Transit Administration; USDoT; US Army Corps of Engineers (December 2, 2016). West Lake Corridor Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Chapter 2: Alternatives Considered) (PDF) (Report). NICTD. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
6. "Chapter 2 Alternatives Considered" (PDF). NICTD. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
7. Ogorek 2012, p. 53.
8. "South Shore Stations, Locations, Address, Directions". Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
9. Longest 2007, p. 107.
10. Ogorek 2012, p. 89.
11. Gonzalez, Michael. "Train plans unsettle Hammond neighborhood". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
12. "South Shore opens new Hammond, Ind., station". Trains. Firecrown Media. October 18, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
13. "South Shore Line announces new Hammond Gateway Station to open October 18". WIMS. October 18, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.

Bibliography=

• Longest, David E. (2007). Railroad Depots of Northern Indiana. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-4131-0. OL 7901853M.
• Ogorek, Cynthia L. (2012). Along the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Rail Line. Images of America. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-738-59419-4. OL 25977909M.

External links

• Media related to Hammond Gateway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to Hammond station (South Shore Line) at Wikimedia Commons
• South Shore Line - Stations
• Hammond Station since 1998 (South Shore Railfan.net)