South Shore Line looks ahead to new station in new location at SBN

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The South Shore Line is moving onto the next phase of its realignment project.

It involves moving the train station from the east side of the South Bend International Airport to the west side, but it also involves several neighbors being forced to move from their homes.

A public open house was held Tuesday night at Dickinson where neighbors got to see the new, finalized route for the train's tracks which will run right through the Ardmore neighborhood, and impacted homeowners learned more about next steps.

"We understand the emotional aspect of this and that's why we want to make sure people know they're going to be treated fairly," says Michael Noland, President of the South Shore Line.

Approximately ten homes will be acquired.

Noland says the acquisition process will be pursuant to the Federal Uniform Relocation Act which provides assistance to people who are displaced by federally funded projects.

A big reason for the new, proposed route, Noland says, is for safety and being able to cut down the number of railroad crossings.

"We'll go from 22 crossings today down to three," explains Noland. "Anytime you can close an at-grade crossing on a railroad, that's a positive safety effort."

Another update is that there is a future possibility of having a new downtown South Bend South Shore station!

The plan is not set in stone yet, but Noland says they are building the new airport station in a way that would allow it to be just a stop on the way to a downtown station.

You can find more information about the South Shore Realignment Project here.