They’ve chugged along slowly but efforts to bring passenger rail back to South Bend’s Union Station are still moving. The city is seeking a federal grant to plan and design the project.
In July 2024 the city excited many when it bought the historic Union Station and announced that passenger rail service Amtrak was interested in moving its station there from the city’s west side.
Earlier this month the city’s redevelopment commission approved spending up to $130,000 to hire a consultant to study two key questions. Can a platform be built between the existing tracks, and can the tunnel under the tracks still structurally support passenger access?
In the past, Norfolk Southern has rejected an Amtrak station there, fearing it would cause too much congestion for their freight railyard. I asked Mayor James Mueller whether Norfolk Southern still opposes a downtown Amtrak station.
”That is not something that I’ve heard as a barrier right now," Mueller said. "We do know we’ve had a lot of conversations with the federal government and Amtrak in particular, and there’s strong interest in bringing the station downtown.”
The city seeks a federal grant for planning and design, and must apply by early February.
