South Shore Bused Between South Bend and Michigan City

[Jochs]

Earlier this week, due to the extreme cold, The South Shore ran buses between Michigan City and South Bend, with no stop at Hudson Lake due to low passenger volumes. People who wanted to get on at Hudson Lake were advised to go to Carroll Ave. Station in Michigan City.
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/South-Sh ... y/30572196

The area west of South Bend, east of Michigan City goes through some remote areas and their fear is that if there is a power outage, the electric trains will have no heat and people could be stranded for hours.

I imagine with another cold snap expected next week, with temps dipping below -10F at night, colder than this week, they will probably bus passengers between South Bend and Michigan City again. This is only a guess. They tell you to visit nictd.com for more info, but when I try it, it does not work.
This is current forecast as I type this for South Bend and vicinity:

[Saturnalia]

Why don't they just have a contingency plan of a diesel on standby to run out and grab them? Seems like that would be a quick fix for any stranded trains

[justalurker66]

They tell you to visit nictd.com for more info, but when I try it, it does not work.

There is a frame on that page that will display the closing information:
Currently: "There are no significant delays at this time..."

[CSX_CO]

Why don't they just have a contingency plan of a diesel on standby to run out and grab them? Seems like that would be a quick fix for any stranded trains

Take a look at the couplers on the South Shore cars.

Plus, they're worried about pulling the wire down and stranding people, not necessarily power outages per se. Pull the wire and a rescue diesel won't be able to get to the cars. Plus, the CSS&SB freight is separate from the commuter side. Freight side will want to be compensated for keeping a diesel for "just in case". Cheaper to rent some buses as I don't think South Bend to Michigan City is that passenger heavy. At least it wasn't the time I rode it.

Practice Safe CSX

[railohio]

Remote areas? In northern Indiana? Seriously?

[CSX_CO]

Remote areas? In northern Indiana? Seriously?

You've obviously never been to the area around Shelby Indiana then...

Practice Safe CSX

[railohio]

You've obviously never been to the area around Shelby Indiana then...

Must be small. Google can't even show me where it is...

[CSX_CO]

You've obviously never been to the area around Shelby Indiana then...

Must be small. Google can't even show me where it is...

Exactly.

Diamond between the III and Monon. That whole area is really wide open spaces, especially the closer to Illinois you get.

So, yes, you can get remote in N. Indiana.

Practice Safe CSX

[Saturnalia]

Why don't they just have a contingency plan of a diesel on standby to run out and grab them? Seems like that would be a quick fix for any stranded trains

Take a look at the couplers on the South Shore cars.

Plus, they're worried about pulling the wire down and stranding people, not necessarily power outages per se. Pull the wire and a rescue diesel won't be able to get to the cars. Plus, the CSS&SB freight is separate from the commuter side. Freight side will want to be compensated for keeping a diesel for "just in case". Cheaper to rent some buses as I don't think South Bend to Michigan City is that passenger heavy. At least it wasn't the time I rode it.

Practice Safe CSX

Ahh I see. Figured there had to be a reason.

[justalurker66]

Why don't they just have a contingency plan of a diesel on standby to run out and grab them? Seems like that would be a quick fix for any stranded trains

Take a look at the couplers on the South Shore cars.

Take a look at the adapters that NICTD has so they can connect their cars to a diesel engine. Yes, the connectors on the electric cars are different - but NICTD has solved that issue. NICTD uses diesels as rescue engines when the power has failed.

Plus, they're worried about pulling the wire down and stranding people, not necessarily power outages per se. Pull the wire and a rescue diesel won't be able to get to the cars.

Now you are on the right track. NICTD is not set up to run a train 32 miles with a diesel engine and no electricity. The diesels work great as a rescue to get past the next substation ... no so great for replacing electric power. As a rescue, the electric train would be waiting for the wire to be cleared and the diesel to arrive. As a proactive step (running diesel instead of electric for most of the 32 miles) passengers would be better off on a bus.

Plus, the CSS&SB freight is separate from the commuter side. Freight side will want to be compensated for keeping a diesel for "just in case". Cheaper to rent some buses as I don't think South Bend to Michigan City is that passenger heavy. At least it wasn't the time I rode it.

Have you seen NICTD 1000? NICTD has their own diesel "just in case". They also have a good working relationship with CSS. Doesn't CSS have 12 diesels (10 owned 2 leased)? An emergency is an emergency and a stopped NICTD passenger train blocks the tracks for CSS freight trains (especially on the single track).


I agree with the decision to bus customers ... I wish they didn't need to but there is something to be said about being proactive and knowing the limits of the service they can provide in severe weather instead of plowing ahead and causing an emergency. And that something to be said is praise.

[Typhoon]

Now you are on the right track. NICTD is not set up to run a train 32 miles with a diesel engine and no electricity. The diesels work great as a rescue to get past the next substation ... no so great for replacing electric power. As a rescue, the electric train would be waiting for the wire to be cleared and the diesel to arrive. As a proactive step (running diesel instead of electric for most of the 32 miles) passengers would be better off on a bus.

I agree that using the bus was the correct idea. One has to remember, even with a CSS engine or the NICTD 1000 pulling the cars, they would still be without heat is the wire is not being used.

[Jochs]

Remote areas? In northern Indiana? Seriously?

Let's say relatively remote. The weather earlier this week in Northern Indiana was very cold, and there was lots of blowing snow making many back roads impassible for a day or so. Some of these "relatively remote" areas would have been nearly impossible to get to if passengers on a train were to get stranded.


Also, when I typed the first post, I grabbed a screen image from WSBT's website, and it seems to change as they update their weather, so from now on you can look at it to get a South Bend regional forecast....especially handy if you plan on visiting South Bend or railfanning in Northern Indiana.

[justalurker66]

Remote areas? In northern Indiana? Seriously?

Let's say relatively remote. The weather earlier this week in Northern Indiana was very cold, and there was lots of blowing snow making many back roads impassible for a day or so. Some of these "relatively remote" areas would have been nearly impossible to get to if passengers on a train were to get stranded.

To expand -

"Remote areas" west of Michigan City have US 12 within a half mile or closer until they reach an area that no one would call remote (the northern parts of Lake and Porter Counties).

"Remote areas" east of Michigan City can be miles from any major road. There are county roads that cross about every mile ... but those roads do not get cleared as fast as major roads and there are a couple of stretches where the South Shore passes over or under the county roads for several miles. Get a train stranded in one of those areas and getting the people out would not be trivial.