Amtrak service in Indiana consists mostly of long-distance overnight trains running between Chicago, Illinois and the East Coast of the United States. The only exceptions are the Hoosier State, which operates quad-weekly between Chicago and Indianapolis, the state capitol, and limited service from the Michigan-bound Wolverines. Unusually for the Midwestern United States, Indiana has never sponsored Amtrak service within its borders.
Current service edit
Numerous railway lines cross the state of Indiana; all of Amtrak's Chicago—East Coast long-distance trains cross the state in some fashion and make at least one stop. The Lake Shore Limited, which serves Cleveland, Ohio and New York City, stops in South Bend, Elkhart and Waterloo. The Capitol Limited, which serves Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., follows the same route on an earlier schedule and makes the same three stops.
At the eastern edge of Chicagoland Indiana sees limited service at Hammond–Whiting. As of 2012[update], two westbound and one eastbound Wolverine trains stop there. To the east, one Wolverine stops in each direction at Michigan City, Indiana. The Wolverine operates between Chicago and Pontiac, Michigan.[1]
Further south, the tri-weekly Cardinal stops in Dyer, Rensselaer, Lafayette, Indianapolis, and Connersville on its way to Cincinnati, Ohio, Washington and New York. On the four days the Cardinal does not operate the Hoosier State follows its route as far as Indianapolis. Amtrak's main maintenance facility is at Beech Grove, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis, and it regularly uses the Hoosier State to ferry equipment between there and Chicago.
Bus connections edit
Amtrak supplements its rail service in Indiana with several bus connections. Multiple Greyhound Lines buses connect with the Hoosier State in Indianapolis to provide service to Louisville, Kentucky.[2] There is also bus service from Indianapolis west to Galesburg, Illinois and the Quad Cities via Burlington Trailways. This bus service makes numerous connections with Amtrak's Illinois Service trains.[3]
Former service edit
Amtrak's first official timetable, effective November 14, 1971, listed five daily trains, all long-distance. Arranged roughly north to south, these were: the Lake Shore (New York-Buffalo-Chicago), Broadway Limited (New York/Washington-Pittsburgh-Chicago), James Whitcomb Riley/George Washington (Washington/Newport News-Cincinnati-Chicago), National Limited (New York/Washington-Pittsburgh-St. Louis-Kansas City) and Floridian (Chicago-Louisville-Florida). Supplementing this service were the South Shore Line trains and the Penn Central-operated Valparaiso locals, which as commuter trains remained outside Amtrak's system. Three of these served Indianapolis.
| Time | Train | Destination |
|---|---|---|
| 3:10 AM | Floridian | Miami/St. Petersburg |
| 4:40 AM | Floridian | Chicago |
| 9:15 AM | National Limited | Kansas City |
| 10:10 AM | James Whitcomb Riley | Chicago |
| 3:55 PM | National Limited | New York/Washington, D.C. |
| 8:45 PM | George Washington | Newport News/Washington, D.C. |
The Lake Shore covered the traditional route of the New York Central Railroad, stopping in Elkhart and South Bend on its journey from New York to Chicago. Further south, the Broadway Limited used the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad main line between New York and Chicago with stops in Gary and Fort Wayne. The James Whitcomb Riley used a mixture ex-New York Central and the C&O between Cincinnati and Chicago, serving Indianapolis and Lafayette. The National Limited crossed Indiana on the former Pennsylvania, stopping in Richmond, Indianapolis and Terre Haute. Finally, the Floridian ran north-south, sharing the same route as the Riley between Chicago and Indianapolis and the continuing south to Louisville, Kentucky, making no additional stops within Indiana.
As of 2012[update] none of these trains remains in operation as constituted, and of the five main routes used only two are still in use. The Floridian and National Limited disappeared in the Carter Administration cuts of 1979, sabotaged by deteriorating track in Indiana. The Lake Shore lasted less than a year; begun in May 1971 as the first state-supported train, it ended in January 1972 after those states could not agree on how to fund it. Service over the route resumed with the Lake Shore Limited in 1975 and continues to this day. The Broadway Limited re-routed off its natural home, the ex-Pennsy, in 1990 before Amtrak discontinued it altogether in 1995. A replacement train, the Three Rivers, ran 1995-2005. The James Whitcomb Riley, renamed the Cardinal and supplemented by the Hoosier State, is the sole train to serve Indianapolis.
Other rail service edit
The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District operates the South Shore Line, an electrified interurban, between South Bend and Chicago. Although the South Shore and Amtrak share four destinations (Chicago, Hammond, Michigan City and South Bend), two use different stations and alignments and do not interchange at any point.
Stations edit
| Station | Code | Services | Ridership | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connersville | COI | Cardinal, Hoosier State | ||
| Crawfordsville | CRF | Cardinal, Hoosier State | ||
| Dyer | DYE | Cardinal, Hoosier State | ||
| Elkhart | EKH | Capitol Limited, Lake Shore Limited | ||
| Hammond–Whiting | HMI | Wolverine | ||
| Indianapolis | IND | Cardinal, Hoosier State | ||
| Lafayette | LAF | Cardinal, Hoosier State | ||
| Michigan City | MCI | Wolverine | ||
| Rensselaer | REN | Cardinal, Hoosier State | ||
| South Bend | SOB | Capitol Limited, Lake Shore Limited | ||
| Waterloo | WTI | Capitol Limited, Lake Shore Limited |
References edit
- ^ Amtrak (May 21, 2012). "Michigan Services". Retrieved 2012-07-01.
- ^ Amtrak (May 7, 2012). "Cardinal / Hoosier State". Retrieved 2012-07-01.
- ^ Amtrak (May 7, 2012). "Illinois Services". Retrieved 2012-07-01.