West Lake Corridor

The West Lake Corridor project, to be called the Monon Corridor upon opening,^[2][3] is an under-construction commuter rail line in Lake County, Indiana. New South Shore Line services are planned to connect the towns of Munster and Dyer in Indiana with Hammond, Indiana, and Chicago in Illinois. The new branch leaves the South Shore Line's main line at Hammond Gateway station, proceeding as a single-track route to Dyer. Trains will run directly to Chicago during peak hours, and shuttle trains between Hammond and Dyer will run during off-peak hours.

West Lake Corridor
West Lake Corridor, viewed from the parking entrance of Hammond Gateway station (June 2024)
Overview
Status	Under construction
Locale	Lake County, Indiana, United States
Termini	Hammond Gateway Munster/Dyer Main Street
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	South Shore Line
Operator(s)	NICTD
Rolling stock	Nippon Sharyo NICTD EMUs
History
Planned opening	May 2025[1]
Technical
Line length	9 mi (14 km)
Number of tracks	1 + passing sidings
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Overhead catenary, 1500 V DC
Route map Legend 0 mi Millennium Station Metra | NICTD 0.8 mi 1.3 km Van Buren Street 1.4 mi 2.3 km Museum Campus/11th Street Amtrak to Union Station 2.7 mi 4.3 km McCormick Place (events only) I-55 (End) 7.0 mi 11.3 km 57th Street 7.9 mi 12.7 km 63rd Street Metra to South Chicago Amtrak to Union Station to Mich., Miami, NYC, Boston I-90 / Chicago Skyway 14.5 mi 23.3 km Kensington/115th Street (Bypassed) Metra to Blue Island to University Park Amtrak to Carbondale to New Orleans I-94 Grand Calumet River 19.0 mi 30.6 km Hegewisch Illinois Indiana reroute peak hours Hammond Gateway maintenance and storage facility to South Bend Airport Grand Calumet River 20.7 mi 33.3 km Downtown Hammond (future) 23.2 mi 37.3 km South Hammond I-80 / I-94 Little Calumet River 25.8 mi 41.5 km Munster Ridge Road Amtrak to Chicago CSXT Elsdon Subdivision 27.6 mi 44.4 km Munster/Dyer Main Street Dyer Amtrak to New York This diagram: view talk edit

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) began planning an extension of the South Shore Line to Valparaiso, Indiana, in 2006 due to population growth in Northwest Indiana. Plans were canceled in 2008 due to lower-than-expected ridership projections. The Indiana General Assembly approved funding for the branch in 2015, and the Federal Transit Administration awarded a grant to the line in 2019. Work started in October 2020, and the branch is expected to open in 2025.

History

New Start Studies

In the mid-2000s, the population and commercial growth in Lake and Porter counties in Northwest Indiana was outstripping projections.^[4] The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District determined that if the growth continued, it would be necessary to add another branch to the South Shore Line commuter rail.^[4] In 2006, planning proceeded for an extension to Valparaiso, Indiana, but the NICTD was unable to confidently attain trackage rights on the Canadian National Railway line to Valparaiso.^[5] By 2008 a new study indicated that the Valparaiso to Munster branch would not generate sufficient ridership and was dropped from the plan.^[6]

The Indiana General Assembly approved funding in 2015 for the construction of a South Shore Line branch to Dyer.^[7][8] The Lake County government and 15 of the county's towns agreed to provide funding for the branch.^[8] In 2017, the NICTD began demolition of houses between Hanover and Brunswick streets to begin building a new station, where trains would interchange with the main line.^[9] The same year, the NICTD modified its plans for the West Lake Corridor, adding a maintenance barn to the proposed Hammond Gateway station and relocating the proposed Munster Ridge Road station.^[10]

Capital Investment Grant Program

In March 2019, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) gave the project a favorable rating meaning the project could qualify for funding from the Capital Investment Grant Program. NICTD anticipated to be awarded funding the following spring with construction beginning later in the year.^[11] That October, the FTA approved the project moving it into its engineering phase.^[12] The project was to cost $945 million, including $335 million from local sources, $255 million in state funds, and $355 million in federal funds.^[13][14]

Construction

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 28, 2020, which included the signing of a full funding grant between the FTA and NICTD.^[15][16] By November 2024, ninety percent of the work had been finished.^[17] NICTD's president Mike Noland said the West Lake Corridor could open as early as May 2025, as long as an underpass near the Dyer station was completed on schedule. The underpass's construction had been delayed due to the lack of approval from CSX Transportation, which owned the right-of-way near that station, and the underpass was not planned to be completed until September 2025.^[18][19]

Alignment

The line will parallel the northeastern segment of the Monon Trail, seen here crossing the Little Calumet River.

Traveling southbound, the new branch leaves the existing main line immediately before Hammond Gateway station.^[20] From Hammond south, the line follows the route of Monon Trail until it reaches Maynard Junction. The Monon Trail will be retained, but follow a new alignment.^[20] At Maynard Junction, the Corridor will have a flyover over the EJ&E/CSX tracks, and then will follow new tracks built immediately west of the CSX right-of-way.

The line, extending to the town of Dyer, will run about 8 miles (13 km).^[21] Due to financial constraints, the initial segment will not extend to St. John or Lowell, but provisions will be made for future extension.^[22] NICTD has also proposed extending the line further south to serve Lowell, St. John, and Cedar Lake, but as of 2024^[update] there are no specific plans to carry out this extension.^[21]

The line will contain four stations in addition to a maintenance facility in Hammond.^[13] NICTD is not constructing a station serving Hammond's downtown area. However, as part of its plans to revitalize its downtown, the city of Hammond plans to construct a downtown station itself at Russell Street, along a section of elevated track. While preparatory work is to be done coinciding with the construction of the West Lake Corridor, full construction on the station is not planned to begin until 2025, making the station an infill station to be built after the initial opening of the West Lake Corridor.^[23][24]

Station listing

Location	Station	Connections and notes
Hammond	Hammond Gateway	South Shore Line (main line) Main line platform opened on October 18, 2024; Monon platform slated to open in 2025
	Downtown Hammond	Future infill station after the rest of the stations open in 2025
	South Hammond
Munster	Munster Ridge Road
Munster–Dyer line	Munster/Dyer Main Street	Amtrak: Cardinal (at Dyer)

Service patterns

The new line will directly serve Millennium Station in Chicago at peak hours,^[25][26] with five trips to or from Millennium Station during these times.^[14] A two-car shuttle service^[14] will operate between Munster/Dyer Main Street and Hammond Gateway for connections to main line services at other times.^[25][26]

See also

• Monon Railroad
• Monon Trail

References

1. Mills, Wes (July 7, 2023). "Progress continues on Double Track, West Lake Corridor". Lakeshore Public Media. Lakeshore Public Media. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
2. Gallenberger, Michael (October 2, 2023). "First section of South Shore Line's Double Track to open in coming weeks". Lakeshore Public Media. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
3. "NICTD: Regular train service set to resume between Dune Park and MC in two weeks, shortening bus rides". Chicago Tribune. October 2, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
4. Benman, Keith (June 23, 2006). "Study: South Shore extension would add jobs, income". nwi.com. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
5. "Archived copy". WJOB (Calumet)/AP. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. Benman, Keith (December 17, 2008). "Study: Valpo-to-Munster SS line would add few riders". nwi.com. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
7. "State spurns extra South Shore funding". Salina Journal. December 15, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
8. Arvia, Katie (April 11, 2022). "West Lake Corridor Project to give Lansing and Munster easier train access to Chicago". The Lansing Journal. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
9. Gonzalez, Michael. "Train plans unsettle Hammond neighborhood". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
10. "South Shore Line Announces Updated Station Plans for West Lake Corridor Project". Portage.Life. May 15, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
11. "FTA gives favorable rating to proposed NICTD commuter-rail extension". Progressive Railroading. March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
12. Keiper, Jennifer (October 8, 2019). "FTA Gives South Shore Line Expansion A Thumbs Up". WBBM-AM. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
13. Dmitrovich, Nick (April 23, 2021). "West Lake Corridor Construction is Rolling". Building Indiana Business. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
14. Mills, Wes (June 6, 2022). "Decades in the Making, West Lake Rail Project is Underway". Inside INdiana Business. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
15. Brown, Alex (October 28, 2020). "Work to Begin on West Lake Corridor Project". Inside INdiana Business With Gerry Dick. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
16. Steele, Andrew (October 28, 2020). "WATCH NOW: 8-mile rail line from Hammond to Dyer is on way". nwitimes.com. The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
17. Ross, Doug (November 26, 2024). "West Lake Corridor work 90% complete; commuter train service to start by fall 2025". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
18. "Underpass work will determine opening date for South Shore's West Lake branch". Trains. November 27, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
19. Gallenberger, Michael; Media, Lakeshore Public (November 26, 2024). "South Shore president not ruling out May opening of West Lake Corridor". Inside INdiana Business. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
20. "Frequently Asked Questions". West Lake Corridor. 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
21. Brown, Alex (May 14, 2024). "What's next for the South Shore Line?". Inside INdiana Business. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
22. 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. p. 5. Retrieved July 16, 2017. The alignments by alternative were evaluated from cost, feasibility, and freight railroad acceptability perspectives. The analysis concluded that the alignment between Dyer and St. John should be dropped from further consideration primarily because the estimated capital cost would have exceeded the funding that has been identified for the project. It was understood that an extension to St. John or Lowell could be considered in the future.
23. Steele, Andrew (March 13, 2022). "Decades of hopes and plans culminate with start of South Shore projects". nwitimes.com. The Times (Munster, Indiana). Retrieved May 25, 2022.
24. Zorn, Tom (March 25, 2022). "Municipalities get on board plans to grow housing, commercial developments as South Shore projects start". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
25. 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.
26. "Chapter 2 Alternatives Considered" (PDF). NICTD. Retrieved July 18, 2020.

External links

• West Lake Corridor
• West Lake Corridor Project Map