South Shore Line but with buses (it’s not great)
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- čas přidán 22. 06. 2024
- Today we're traveling on one of our favorites, the South Shore Line. One of America's last interurbans, this line connects Chicago with Michigan City and South Bend, Indiana. Normally, you can take an electric train all the way down the line. However, due to a bunch of track improvement projects, a section of the line has been out of service for almost a year. To bridge the gap, the South Shore Line has been offering "bustitution," a.k.a. bus replacement service. While the agency communicates one thing via their website, in reality things are quite a bit different. Find out how chaotic the transfer to the bus was.
Trains Are Awesome!
Date of filming: 10/21/2022
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Our Instagram: / tra_channel
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:35 What is Bustitution?
2:15 Walking from Washington to Millennium
3:06 Millennium Station
3:56 Buying tickets
4:49 The train ride
8:01 Transferring to the bus
9:17 Bus review
9:53 Why are we on a bus?
11:30 Why it's not good
12:33 Arriving at Carroll Ave
13:13 Highliner and Freight Trains
13:32 Conclusion - Auta a dopravní prostředky
I'm really excited about the new station going in at Hammond . Until it's done I use the station in New Chicago. You know, a bad bus service only reinforces the fact that Trains are Awesome! .... With Indiana being a real church going state, you'd think busstitution would be a crime.
Haha I like what you did there at the end. I’m excited for the new station and branch line too!
Last sentence 😂😂
We have bustitution in the UK as well. It often takes considerably longer as the roads don’t exactly follow the rails. They also pass stations early and sometimes just miss them out. In London it can be incredibly slow due to the traffic.
Sometimes the lack of communication can be just as bad
I’m I’m I’m I’m I’m just trying my luck an
I rode this line back in October, travelling to 10th Street, Michigan City and experienced the chaotic and noisy change onto buses. I was dropped at Dune Park where I expected a connecting shuttle to Michigan City 10th Street (as advertised on the website). However, no shuttle came, but three full route (Gary to Carroll Ave) coaches came and went. After an hour and a half I asked the fourth coach driver when I might get to 10th Street and he said "hop on". I was the only passenger. During the ride I chatted to the driver and explained that I was only there to photo the 10th Street track works to get before and after shots of the street, having been there back in 2016 and 2019 and was short of time, needing to fly back to London later that evening. He dropped me off as near to the 10th Street station as he could and said that he would wait to take me back to Dune Park if I was quick. After maybe ten minutes, I had taken all the photos I wanted to, and sure enough I was back to Dune Park and onto a Gary shuttle within an hour. Excellent service, but pure luck to find this helpful chap, otherwise it would have been a wasted trip.
I note that this 10th Street shuttle is now advertised as a "book in advance" service so at least there should be a guaranteed connection.
Excellent as it will be to have a double track alignment for most of the ride, the stopping of the street running in Michigan City is a major loss to transit history, being the last example of true interurban operation, so the South Shore Line will now be simply an electric railway - albeit it unlike any other in the USA.
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I’m impressed you came all the way from London to admire the South Shore track construction! I would have lost patience and probably called a Lyft in your situation. I’m similarly saddened about the loss of the street running.
Looks like pretty strong ridership even with the bussing annoyances. I’ve driven I94 next to this line many times but have never gotten a chance to actually try out this service.
The SSL is pretty popular! It’s always busy when I’m on it
It's a key commuter link for NWI & Chicago, but also heavily "touristed" on the weekends. A number of stations in NWI have significant (& free) parking which I think really helps too.
I never ridden the South Shore Line before. Love that door bell sounds kind of cool.
I last rode SSL in June 2022. At the time, it really was just the bustitution between Dune Park and Michigan City, but after that it was extended out to Gary. It seems like the project won't end. First they said it would be done by December 2022, then winter 2023, and now it looks to go into Spring/Summer 2023. For those in South Bend (like my parents), it might be worth going up to Niles or New Buffalo and taking the Wolverine/Blue Water instead.
As someone who lives in Mishawaka near the Michigan boarder that’s what I chose to do (Nile’s station is closer then SBN anyways) but only got the venture coaches once 😢which makes a track worth the extra $$$$
I love taking the Wolverine since it run frequently like the Hiawatha Service to Milwaukee does.
They were pretty clear that revenue service on the double track line wouldn’t begin until 2024 or 2025 from the beginning of the project
@JuanWay Trips: The AMTRAK from Niles Michigan the Wolverine sounds like a good alternative in the meantime even if the train fare is about twice as high as the South Shore Line.
albertcarello619 I just took Amtrak from New Buffalo to Chicago and it was only $12 - only slightly higher than SS at $10.25 but Amtrak was much quicker.
I’m from South Bend and rather frequently ride the South Shore. Thank you so much for an interesting informative video.
You’re welcome!
Thank you for this fascinating video. I’ve not ridden on the South Shore line, but did ride on the Metra electric line to Blue Island. I thought the bi- level cars on that route wee great ! Here in the U.K we have many Bustitutions at the weekend, and everyone loathes them, so you are not alone ! I will visit the South Shore when all the improvements have been completed, as it does sound good. Many thanks.
Absolutely loved this video!!! Love the South Shore!!! Will wait until the construction is done to go again. I’ll miss the street running in Michigan City, that was the station I usually went to. 😢
I’m gonna miss the street running too
I was always impressed (& confused) with South Shores event schedules - they'd run extra trains on busy weekends - Pride, Taste, etc., but they weren't well posted and you'd just stumble on them if you were early (or late) to a regular run.
Well I know what I'm not riding in the near future. I'm in a electric wheelchair so I wouldn't be able to get the bus. Oh well at least it's being done for a very good reason. I'm pretty excited for the day when they open the new branch to Dyer Indiana and seeing the new ailment in Michigan City (even though I would've preferred the original street running) and new station.
The Millennium Station is the newest of the downtown stations. It opened before the original Central Station was closed and the trains extended to Randolph Street Station * now Millennium Station
It’s still gross lol
Was in Millenium Station a few years ago. Definitely the Penn Station (NYP) of Chicago.
Thanks, Thom! I'm looking forward to completion of double tracking and West Lake Corridor.
Thank you so much!! I am very excited for these developments as well.
Thanks for the video Thom! I'm reading that there aren't many interurban railways left in the US - apart from the Septa Norristown High Speed Line. The Belgian Kusttram is probably the closest line to the UK. I've heard about the South Shore Line. That's a huge double tracking project they are undertaking - 17 miles I've read! Hoping there will be more express service along the line and I'll ride it one day. I hate bus replacements and I'd rather stay on a train with a longer journey time.
I love Rosemont! ❤
Although I dont use it often, it's always a treat to take the South Shore Line!
Until the track project is complete you may want consider AMTRAK if you want to directly to SOUTH BEND for a one seat ride. However it will likely cost twice as much as the SOUTH SHORE LINE.
In NYC, when buses fill in the gaps, we call them shuttle buses or bus bridging. Bustitution could be bus substitution or an institution for anything bus-related.
I'm near Munster, can't wait for that station to be ready, it'll be quite busy I presume
Like others, I’ll miss the street running in Michigan City. I first saw it as a kid in the 1950s and was awed by idea and the reality. The trains up through the 1960s as I remember were big orange monsters that I believe dated back to the 1920s or 1930s. I loved the improvement of new trains, but a lot of lore was lost with the old ones. You mention 11th street station being just a sidewalk. The stop there was in front of the old station building, which may no longer be standing. As late as the 1960s it was not only open, with a waiting room, but they also had the usual station amenities: I think a news stand, maybe shoe shine stand, and possibly a lunch counter. I never lived in Michigan City, so I’m recalling from visits a couple of times a year. I am excited about the possibilities that double track can bring in terms of efficiency and timeliness. The extension south of Hammond is also good-I would like to see the line extended to Valparaiso.
I think they replaced the station building with a parking lot. I too am among the ranks of people that will greatly miss the street running. It really was one of it’s defining features, and maybe the only electric street running in the country.
Used to love riding the South Shore line. I Also fans of Batman The Dark Night, Batman rode his BatPod through Millennium Station.
Thank You!
You’re welcome!
I occasionally rode the South Shore while living in South Bend four decades ago. The old Insull-era cars were in their last years and had been in use for over 50 years by then. The trains terminated at Bendix, having been taken off the streets of SB in 1970. Bendix was in the middle of nowhere. The 11th street station in Michigan City was a carbon copy of the Wells Street terminal in Chicago, where the Chicago Aurora and Elgin trains left for the western suburbs.
I'm curious to see what the new 11th St Station will look like
@0:08 Had a little gas there, Thom?! LOL! Well, you have had another interesting journey by way of bustitution. #I am surprised that you haven't caught one of those NICTD Highliner trains yet.
Thank you
I actually prefer the South Shore's Highliners over Metra's. I like the interiors better and the gray tinted windows are better than Metra's windows.
Just so you know NICTD is leasing 20 plus cars from the Metra Electric. I'm not sure if these cars will be used for the new West Lake Corridor or the main line service.
Wow, you mentioned Michigan City. You've passed through Michigan City several times on Amtrak. You even broke down here in December. But you always seemed to ignore us. We weren't feeling the love. LOL.
Yes the South Shore project is a mess. I live a couple blocks south of it, and work a couple blocks north of it. So I see it daily. I could bore you with hours of stories about what they're doing. But I won't.
Keep up the good work
I’m not ignoring you, I’ve been shopping at your outlet malls several times!
@@Thom-TRA You're doing better than me. I haven't shopped at the outlet mall for years. Although there is a popcorn shop there I may have to try. Don't get into Chicago much these days, and I miss Garrett's popcorn
I'd think the smart thing to do would be to complete the alternate route before closing down the street train route, and then maybe do the bus bridge bit only when they need to do the final connection work between new and old.
I think there were two projects - the reroute & the double tracking, the double tracking being the harder to work w/ active service - they just merged the closures into one (& honestly the street run & station were so dangerous it was probably best to stop it asap).
I live in Miller Beach, and it would seem they are using the old US 12 alignment to portage as well as moving the station
I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago and we would use the Illinois Central's electrified suburban trains occasionally. I remember having to wait at the Randolph Street Station for the train we would ride to get home in the evening. One Saturday in August, we drove on the Indiana Toll Road to one of the sand dune parks in northern Indiana. I remember watching the orange South Shore Line trains during the mile or two or three where they run alongside the Toll Road. No we never did ride on the South Shore trains. We had to move away from Chicago when I was a teenager and I have been back to visit a few times since then.
Where did you move to?
Arkansas.
I always wanted to rid the South Shore Line just for the part that runs on the city streets! I find that fascinating when trains and cars share the road.
Unfortunately the street running on the south shore line is history… but there are other places in the US and around the world where you can still see this!
I actually did this for the first time a week ago and a half. I took the south shore line from Chicago to Gary mainly because I wanted to check out the bus detour. Then I took one to Michigan City where I had a short amount of time and then I took another bus/train back to the city. The bus I saw you were riding is actually a Volvo. That was my bus on my way to Michigan City and then I took a Van Hool back, which is another vehicle make of motor coach buses. I wish I could know the entire vehicle type of both of them including the model year.
I wonder when the construction will be over and they’ll get rid of the bus bridge. Glad you got to try it out, did you ride the Highliners east of Michigan City?
@@Thom-TRA No I only went as far as the Carroll Ave stop until I headed back to the city. I haven’t yet ever rode the south shore high liners but I’m going to see if I can do it really soon, and maybe when they’re closer to the city. I was able to find on the south shore website under the busing service advisory that the detour/construction is in effect till this spring.
I use south shore near monthly to check up on my grandmother in Hobart. Even with the buses, it still beats driving!
Will always beat driving!
With the street running eliminated the railroad will be just like SEPTA REGIONAL RAIL MAINLINE ELECTRIC. The South Shore Line cars look similar to the GE REGIONAL RAIL ELECTRICS in Philadelphia.
Of course Amtrak had a stop in Michigan City but stopped it due to poor ridership. Now there are none being served by trains.
Thanks for another fine video. Have you considered changing from the Blue Line to the South Shore at Van Buren? The walk from the street to South Shore platform is shorter there.
I’ve used Metra VanBuren plenty of times before but I’m trying to think where it would be convenient to transfer from the Blue Line. I’d think both Jackson and LaSalle are farther than Washington.
@@Thom-TRA Lasalle is for sure farther. The Blue line Jackson exit between Jackson and Van Buren looks closer to Van Buren than do any of the Washington exits to Randolph. The chief advantage here is avoiding Millenium station.
How long did the bus detour add to the trip? Are the timetables accounting for that detour, or not really? Going from Chicago to South Bend in a couple of weeks and am wondering if the arrival time shown on the schedule is way off. Thanks.
It is strange seeing a train between houses in a residential neighborhood, at the 10:25 minute mark, the 11th street station.
I'm sure you would agree. There is a picture on Wikipedia showing the train on a rainy day.
It was a surreal experience. There are a few places left in the US where you can still experience this.
i live in mishawaka, indiana and i get around using a power wheelchair and i go to chicago 3 or 4 times a year using the south shore it can be a drag because sometimes they can't get the wheelchair lift on the buses to work.🙁
Aside from all the logistical crap that happened, was pretty cool to find a Volvo 9700 running it. First heard of those buses a full 6 years before they made it to the US and Canada, when they were known as the workhorses of Sweden, Finland and Norway. Always wanted to ride one, and have looked into ways I could incorporate them into my transit projects.
Canadian buses are generally junk. Novabus and New Flyer. Used to be solid and fun and often comfortable, now bland, boring and uncomfortable and shaky, the Novas in Ontario have really stiff suspensions and the seats are anchored in such a way that when you go on a street full of potholes, the vibrations transfers through the frame of the bus into the seat, and up my spine. Got to ride Alexander-Dennis products extensively in Canada, and love them. but the Volvo 9700 is my holy grail, and it sucks that nobody in Canada (especially Ontario) runs them on line runs. I hope that the Mercedes Tourrider that's being introduced here receives a better reception. Even Montreal will use school buses for transit for crying out loud!
In Mexico and Northern Europe, the Volvo is the backbone of intercity transit, while bog standard, are pretty iconic and enthusiasts love them. Yet here, it's the Rahm Emmanuel Moutza (Chicago reference from a Wikipedia geek) the enthusiasts give to them.
In terms of coaches, almost no transit enthusiasts here appreciate them or even film them even. Very few ride videos or reviews out there of a Volvo 9700 anywhere in North America, lest videos of them starting up or the sounds of them. Why? I see tonnes of MCI and NFI and Nova, even Van Hool which are their own flavour of European awesomeness, none of the Volvo or even TEMSA.
This almost makes me wanna do the SSL if I make it to Chicago, even if the service is not that good. Volvo! What matters!
I ride this train coming from Michigan city to Chicago coming from Indianapolis lol it's a awesome train
It’s a great train. Buses could not compare.
@@Thom-TRA buses can't compete with any of our trains we a different breed
As I said, my brother took me as a little kid to Michigan City, completely without permission. But I never forget that. I think he wanted to see Notre Dame, but we got on the wrong train.
I’m sure it was a trip to remember!
Have you journeyed to Millennium Street Station via the underground pedway from Washington/Block 37/Lake?
Yes, the weather was just so nice that it seemed like a waste of my evening to take the pedway
Have the opened up the line from gary to dune park yet?
I was trying this a week ago, going from Dune Park to South Bend. Buses have no signs saying what their next stop is, and the drivers don't get out asking for riders. What was the bus to Michigan city pulled out of Dune park 15 minutes early. I got the next one to Michigan City but was too late for the train to South Bend. Ended up having to take an Uber to make sure I caught my Amtrak train in South Bend.
Yeah it’s a huge mess and I don’t know why they haven’t figured it out after so long.
It's August 2023 and we still have buses going on with the South Shore Line. It looks like it's going to be spring 2024 at this point? It really stinks!
It’s ridiculous but I did see they’re running test runs on the new tracks
Everyone loves Gary!
Yeah…
@@Thom-TRA I always wanted to ride the old middle-of-the-street route, but I am glad to see the improvement.
It was a fun route. Sad it’s gone, even if it’s for improvement. Would have been fun if they kept it for excursions.
Great theme song.
I forget which blue line station, but I think one of them has an underground pedway to millenium station so that you dont have to walk above ground
Yeah it’s Washington. But that’s boring if the weather’s nice, I’d rather walk outside.
Super sad I never rode it while it still street ran :( I don't think any other heavy rail passenger services street run in the entire country
There is some street running in Oakland, CA!
But according to the new Nov 2022 Timetable,, it i is running from Chicago to Beverly Shores then from there to Carroll Avenue, then trains from there to South Bend??
Yeah it is one big mess in terms of communication
@@Thom-TRA Bummer
They should have NEVER closed the street running line through Michigan City til the new line was complete and ready for full operation. How many riders are lost because the bus bridge?
Then again because Indiana, which let Amtrak's Hoosier State train go instead of paying $3 mln per federal law.
They are building the new tracks on the same street (reducing it to a one-lane road). So they kinda needed to do it that way.
In Germany we say Prost when clinking glasses and then drink our wine or beer.
So how are we going to name it when Prost will be substituded by Cheers or Santé ?
Hmm I think we may have to work on an alternative for that one
Are they double-tracking Michigan City to South Bend?
I don’t think so. Lower frequencies.
Saangto Aikaa: They sure should and really need to. Why not finish the job!? Maybe this will be the final project that seems like a definite possibility I say!
I wish they were that way it would be more frequent trips to Chicago from SB instead of every 4 hours
@@cip6292 I sure wish they would entirely double track the rest of the line from Michigan City IN to South Bend International Airport. Hopefully that's in the plans and works soon. They should just complete the job. That would be phase 2 after completion of the double tracking project from Gary to Michigan City IN.
Kiss 'n' ride signboard at 00:14? What is that?
Where you drop someone off and then drive off
@@Thom-TRA 😄🥰😍
Thom (and feel free not to answer if it feels invasive to you) I might have missed it in this or another video, but who is Lindsey in relation to yourself? Is she a friend, relative, partner?
She is my lovely wife and my long-time best friend :) don’t worry about asking
Good cuts.
Glad I was able to ride it in '21 before the construction, and at the time the outbound service was free.
I remember when it was free
The outbound service was free in 2021? In October 2021, I rode the South Shore Line from South Bend all of the way into Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and then back to South Bend. On the way from South Bend to Chicago in the morning, I noticed that the conductor walked through the passenger cars several times checking tickets carefully. However, in the afternoon on the way from Chicago back to South Bend, the conductor walked through the passenger cars several times but she never stopped to check anyone's ticket. I was wondering why the conductor didn't stop to check the tickets. I took this trip because I wanted to ride the South Shore Line through Michigan City one last time before it was re-constructed into double track. If and when they ever finish with the constructing, I am planning to ride the South Shore Line again.
Totally OT, but it might please you to know that all of the ads I get on your channel are for the Amtrak Downeaster.
Sounds like you need to give in and book a trip ;)
Good idea! Some friends and I are actually considering a day trip to Portland and/or Brunswick this Saturday. (These plans came up since I made that comment)
it is sad that they runied the system with long term bussing
I couldn't believe they did that here in LA with the Blue Line, closed a whole line for a month. But when it came back, it was faster, quieter, and nicer. So worth it.
Bustitution is only temporary don't worry it's not permanent
That’s the point of bustitution
Who was the conductor he looks familiar
I don’t know. I know some of the other ones.
Bustitution = Schienenersatzverkehr in German.
Thomas
It’s so frustrating that Gary was built with a low platform station. For a large station built as recently as the 1980s, that’s sinful.
It’s also unusual for that part of the line. Most are high platform there.
@@Thom-TRA definitely.
@@Thom-TRA it also kinda curious to me that they built the area’s Amtrak station as a logistically-challenging siding station in Hammond instead of attached to the Gary SSL station. All four Amtrak lines through northern Indiana pass through trackage right next to the Gary SSL station.
Well, there are serious plans to at least move the Michigan trains to the South Shore Line in the near future, so the stopping points will probably change by then.
I hope to see those Nippon Sharyo EMUs replaced by something more modern soon. Something like the Kawasaki M8 or M9 railcars in New York would be a good replacement.
I find them charming. However, I hope to see them expand their fleet though with their new cars being something sleek.
@@tylerkochman1007 Me too!
Henry Kobulnicky: Or how about the cars that are on the MAINLINE SEPTA ELECTRIC by GE or Hyundai Rotem V5s would be great.
@@albertcarello619 Or something like the British Rail Class 720! The South Shore Line REALLY needs more modern rolling stock.
@@henrykobulnicky9537 I do like SEPTA'S SILVER LINER Vs by Hyundai -Rotem that would seem to be at home on the SOUTH SHORE LINE. Also the GEs would also be at home here on the line.
Haha..the caption is translating bustitution as prostitution.
Lol I was worried it might
It's too bad it's not a privately owned company like the freight division, but it's a real plus to the area. The new Hammond stations will be a big deal for the line. I just wish they could connect it with Midway and O'Hare also. That would put 4 airports on the same line, since the Gary airport is almost within walking distance of a South Shore station.
It's been a long time since a private company met share holder expectations on a passenger line. A business has to meet safety standards with far too few customers to support the crazy high returns expected by business today. Once business returns to an expectation of profit in the single digits you're not going to see private train lines. There's a reason governments had to take it all over 50 years ago. Business did not want it, and it would have died otherwise. It would all revert to bus service. Van Gelder Lines had a great service from Highland Indiana to both airports. The buses were full, but they did not meet corporate profit expectations. They were cash positive just not cash positive enough. They doubled fares, and ridership went down, so they simply closed down the service after they figured out they couldn't squeeze Northern Indiana to the desire of their board of directors. American business does not like capital heavy enterprises or skilled workers who expect to be paid.
South Shore line gets you really close to the CTA Orange and CTA Blue. Takes me about 2 hours total time to get from New Chicago Indiana to either airport. But I like to walk around downtown Chicago for a bit. It takes more time if you do that. So with the TSA add on, I leave Indiana 4 hours or so before my flight.
@@AndrewTubbiolo I think Brightline is profitable and there are a few private rail companies in Europe that are attracting investment without the government taking the lead. Before all the reconstruction on the SSL it was making a profit enough to attract more federal subsidies, but I'd really like to see it be independent again. At least it survived the big Amtrak conglomeration. Passenger rail is frustratingly close to being a real thing again. Side note: I remember taking the SSL up to Chicago as a kid when they were the old brownish orange cars (very late '70s) and the torn vinyl and drab orangish seats are a real throwback. But yeah, it would be nice to have a line connecting all the airports, and Brightline-type (non-Amtrak) connections between cities.
@@lazarjd I would love to see it too. I'm hoping for Brightline's success in Florida as well. The population density of the East Coast helps so much. One line in the West I've been waiting for someone to do, either Amtrak or private is LA to Las Vegas. Esp a car train. I think a designated rider program where you can park your car at an Amtrak lot and have their valet load it on the train, that way you can arrive at the train back to LA loaded and sober up on the ride hope arriving legal and rested for LA traffic. I wonder if there's some special interest that prevents anyone from setting up a car transport train between those two cities like the taxi lobby used to keep train service from Newark Liberty Airport for decades.
@@lazarjd Interesting information on the Sunset Limited. I love to watch #1 and #2 pass thru Tucson. I just assumed it was not profitable, great to hear that it's nearly so. The silver train looks great when you're on I-10 headed West towards Phoenix and you get a great eyefull of silver passenger train blasting by. And at night, the passenger windows lit up make for real eyecandy.
@@AndrewTubbiolo Imagine if it had the Southern Pacific color scheme again. Amtrak reminds me too much of the Post Office, but at least the mail delivery lady is cool.
I do not see the growth of the shore as a blessing. When the south shore people want to expand they rip up people from their_____ homes! And have to move else where . I doesn't matter if they have worked hard and place money in their home, or just bought the house. So I must state how is that a good thing?
I think you are confusing the Chicago neighborhood south shore with the train line known as the South Shore Line. This video discusses the latter.
The South Shore Line runs through northern Indiana, through industrial areas, abandoned cities, a national park, and suburbs. Having a better train line will give many people access to good transit, which is equitable and just. Not sure how improving a transit line is a bad thing.
I had a coworker who lived on Gostlin Street in Hammond where the new gateway station will be. The railroad paid them good money for their old property. They were glad to sell and saw it as a blessing! Not always bad