South Shore Line trains continued to be impacted by weather this week. For the past several days, some scheduled trains have been combined, while some have been replaced by buses between South Bend and Michigan City. Last Friday, service was reduced to a modified weekend schedule, but Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District President Mike Noland says it was nearly canceled entirely.
“If you have an issue with your wire and put the people out on a train, those train cars, when they lose power, they lose heat, and they lose heat quickly,” Noland told the NICTD Board on Monday.
He said switching to a weekend schedule left extra train cars and crews available to rescue any stranded passengers, if a train became disabled. He only reported one major incident, in which overhead wire issues forced South Shore passengers to be transferred onto a Metra train.
Noland said it would be particularly hard to reach stranded trains on the east end of the line, which prompted the switch to buses there. “There are places on our rail line that it’s a mile and a half between the rail line and the nearest road, so if you have a situation and you have an emergency service situation, we didn’t want to risk that,” Noland told board members.
Still, he said the South Shore Line carried about 1,700 passengers Friday.
“Those are people who have to ride the train, so we know that it’s essential for us to be out there," Noland added. "We only do it if we can run safely.”
As a precaution, South Shore trains were limited to 60 miles per hour over the weekend to avoid wire damage, and some mechanics were riding the trains, so they could quickly address any issues. The railroad has also begun stocking trains with supplies like handwarmers, blankets and snacks.
