East Chicago station

Track layout
	Legend

East Chicago
East Chicago
General information
Location	5615 Indianapolis Boulevard; East Chicago, Indiana
Coordinates	41°36′43″N 87°28′46″W / 41.61194°N 87.47944°W
Owned by	NICTD
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	East Chicago Bus Transit and Gary Public Transportation Corporation Buses
Construction
Parking	1,200 spaces
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	4
History
Opened	1956
Rebuilt	1982, 2004
Electrified	1,500 V DC
Passengers
2019	1,493 (average weekday)
Services
Track layout
Track layout
	Legend
Location
Location

East Chicago is a train station at 5615 Indianapolis Boulevard in East Chicago, Indiana.^[2] It serves the South Shore Line commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois to South Bend, Indiana.

History

The station was built as part of a South Shore Line project that removed a street running section on Chicago Avenue and placed the line on an elevated roadbed parallel to the Indiana Toll Road in order to improve speed and mitigate traffic issues. It opened on September 16, 1956, though the station building was completed later.^[3] Prior to this, South Shore Line trains stopped in downtown East Chicago at a storefront station at the corner of Chicago and Forsyth.^[4] In 2004 the station was remodeled with high level platforms to provide accessibility, and to decrease station dwell times.^[2]

Facilities

East Chicago consists of a single high-level island platform situated between two gauntlet tracks which permit the passage of freight trains. The northern track provides service to Chicago while the southern track services Michigan City and South Bend. At this location the South Shore Line is situated on an embankment and the platform traverses Indianapolis Boulevard. The station building is located east of Indianapolis Boulevard at ground level.^[5] The station is equipped with ticket vending machines; staffed service ended in 2017.^[6] Adjacent to the station is a parking lot with capacity for 1,200 cars.^[5]

NICTD approved a $4.4-million construction project in March 2019 to increase passenger access at East Chicago.^[7]

Bus connections

East Chicago Transit

Route 1
Route 2
Route 4

GPTC

Route R1: Lakeshore Connection

References

^ "2020 State of the System Report" (PDF). Metra. November 2020. p. SSL-4.
^ ^a ^b Longest, David E. (2007). Railroad Depots of Northern Indiana. Arcadia Publishing. p. 108. ISBN 9780738541310.
^ "S. Shore on New Line". The Hammond Times. Hammond, Indiana. September 16, 1956. pp. 1–2. Retrieved November 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Ogorek, Cynthia L. (2012). Along the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Rail Line. Arcadia Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 9780738594194.
^ ^a ^b "South Shore Stations, Locations, Address, Directions". Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
^ Steele, Andrew (February 27, 2017). "South Shore's East Chicago ticket office closing as electronic sales rise". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
^ Zorn, Tim (March 25, 2019). "NICTD: $4.4M East Chicago train platform project to begin". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 25, 2019.