11th Street station (Indiana)

11th Street is a rail stop in the central city neighborhood of Michigan City, Indiana. It serves the South Shore Line commuter rail system and is one of two active stations in Michigan City, the other being Carroll Avenue station. It is located adjacent to the historic 11th Street Station of the former Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad station, which operated the station from 1927 until 1987. The station is composed of a passenger shelter and a sign on the northwest corner of East 11th Street and Pine Street; boarding and alighting is done from the street itself.

11th Street
11th Street station – passenger shelter and sign.
Location114 East 11th Street
Michigan City, Indiana
Coordinates41°42′43″N 86°53′52″W
Owned byNICTD
PlatformsSidewalk north of the tracks
Tracks1
ConnectionsMichigan City Transit
Construction
Structure typeStreet running
ParkingYes
Other information
Fare zone8
History
OpenedMay 1927
ElectrifiedYes (1500 V DC)
Traffic
Passengers (2015)83 (average weekday)[1]
Services
Preceding station NICTD Following station
Beverly Shores
toward Millennium Station
 South Shore Line Carroll Avenue
toward South Bend Airport
Willard Avenue
Closed 1994
toward Millennium Station

History
A train at the station in 1981

The Chicago, South Shore and South Bend was one of the last interurban railroads to operate profitably in the United States. Aggressive management, led by financier Samuel Insull, reconceptualized the South Shore as the linchpin of a public transportation network operating throughout the industrialized Indiana Dunes region of Indiana. Insull interests built the 11th Street Station in central Michigan City in May 1927[2] as a pioneering piece of multimodal public transportation infrastructure. The South Shore had affiliated with several regional bus lines, and the 11th Street Station was conceived as a waiting area point where system users would transfer between a bus and an electric train.

After operating relatively successfully for some decades, the South Shore entered bankruptcy in the 1980s.[3] Electric train service was reorganized under the umbrella of the publicly funded Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), but affiliated bus service had long since ceased. The South Shore Line closed the 11th Street station building in November 1987,[4] but its NICTD successor-in-interest maintains train service to the street adjacent to the station. The station building itself, designed by Insull's staff-architect Arthur U. Gerber,[5] is closed and out of service as of 2010.

Current status
Chicago-bound train approaches 11th Street station

The trains stop near the original station, opening the door on the north side of the track. To make up for the closure of the station, NICTD set up a small passenger shelter at the end of the adjacent parking lot, near the 11th Street/Pine Street intersection. As the rule of thumb, conductors only open the doors in the first two cars.

Michigan City and NICTD have discussed the possibility of moving the tracks off the street, onto a less intrusive alignment. A series of recent studies concluded that the 11th Street alignment is the most viable and cost-effective option, especially in terms of transit-oriented development.[6] According to the preliminary plans,[7] the alignment will be double-tracked and moved half a block (in most places) south of its present location. The current station will be replaced with a new facility between Franklin and Washington streets, southwest of the current location. It will have a raised, accessible platform and a new multi-level parking lot and have a siding track. Suffice to say, most of the buildings on the South side of 11th Street would have to be demolished to make way for the realignment.[8]

There are considerable concerns among Michigan City residents about this plan, particularly those who would be relocated. Other possible alignments exist that would also separate the NICTD tracks from a grade widely used by motor vehicle traffic, and a public hearing was held in September 2011 to discuss these possible alignments.[9]

Bus connections

Michigan City Transit (at Franklin/11th Street intersection)

  • Route 1
  • Route 2
  • Route 4

References
  1. "2018 State of the System" (PDF). Metra. August 2018. p. 185.
  2. Economic Adjustment Study: Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad Corridor, Final Report; Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission and Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District,; March 1980; pg 1
  3. Economic Adjustment Study: Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad Corridor, Final Report; Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission and Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District,; March 1980; Appendix A
  4. Jeff Tucker, "What's next for station?", May 15, 2002, news story cached by railfan.net
  5. The Works of Arthur Gerber-Transit Stations
  6. "South Shore Line Station Economic Impact on Downtown Michigan City study" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  7. "South Shore Preliminary Downtown Reroute Concept Michigan City, IN" (PDF). NICTD. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  8. Wink, Laurie (June 9, 2009). "More South Shore details released". The News Dispatch. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  9. Jacobson, Amanda (September 9, 2011). "Large crowd turns out for South Shore open house". La Porte Herald-Argus. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
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