The South Shore Line says it faces complicated repairs, before it can restore full service.
In a Facebook post Tuesday, the railroad said there were no injuries, when 13 cars of an empty freight train derailed last week between the East Chicago and Hammond Gateway stations.
The challenge is that it happened on a bridge over the Grand Calumet River. While there was no major damage to the bridge itself, there was significant damage to the supports for the overhead wires that power passenger trains.
The railroad says those “structures and their mounts are specific to that location and are attached directly to the bridge.” Now, replacements have to be designed, manufactured and installed, before power can be restored.
The South Shore Line will continue to run on a weekend schedule for at least the rest of the week, while train service will be replaced by buses between East Chicago and Hammond Gateway through Sunday.
Due to the disruption, the railroad has announced that all June monthly tickets will remain valid through July.
