Amtrak tries early train from Niles (MI) to Chicago

South Bend Tribune ^ | Wednesday, September 01. 2010 | Lou Mumford

[Willie Green]

Weekend test run from Niles could become permanent.

NILES — Need to be in Chicago early — say, 7:30 a.m. — and don't want to drive? At least this weekend, Amtrak is making it possible for people who live in southwestern Michigan.

Rick Harnish, of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, announced Tuesday that Amtrak, over Labor Day weekend, will add, on a test run basis, a fifth train on its Chicago-Detroit corridor that will provide service between Chicago and Kalamazoo. Among the stops will be Niles and the beachfront station in New Buffalo.

According to Harnish, if enough riders respond to the new service, the new train could become permanent. And that would be good news for southwestern Michigan in general and Niles and New Buffalo in particular, said Lisa Croteau, program manager for Niles DDA Main Street, because of the potential impact on economic development.

"Right now, there's nothing that gets you there (Chicago) that allows us to be a commuter location. The earliest you can get there from Niles is 11:59 a.m., Chicago (Central Standard) time, which is about 1 p.m. our time (Eastern Standard),'' Croteau said. "With this new train, it gets you there for the work day. Or you could go to Chicago and shop, do dinner and take in an early show. ''

Harnish said much the same thing.

"This fills that key gap. You can spend all day in Chicago,'' he said.

Although the test train won't leave Chicago until 10 p.m. CST, arriving back in Niles at 12:30 a.m. EST, riders would have the option of returning on one of the earlier trains, Croteau said. The one that would figure to be most popular with commuters is scheduled to leave Chicago at 6 p.m. CST (7 p.m. EST), she said, and arrive in Niles at 8:43 p.m. EST.

Riders who board westbound trains in Niles generally can count on arriving in Chicago in two hours or less, Croteau said, adding that return trips take about 10 minutes extra. But those times would be reduced considerably should high-speed rail service come into play, making train travel more popular and opening the door to further economic development opportunities.

Harnish said the westbound test train offering the 7:30 a.m. CST arrivals in the Windy City will operate Friday through Tuesday while the eastbound test train will operate Thursday through Monday. The trains are intended to service passengers who are likely to be off work over the Labor Day weekend, he said.

A check of Amtrak's Web site (Amtrak.com) Tuesday revealed that one-way tickets on Friday's test train between Niles and Chicago would cost $16 each. Passengers would leave Niles at 6:33 a.m. EST and would need to pick up their tickets onboard, as the depot's ticket agent doesn't report for duty until 9:30 a.m.

As with other modes of travel, Croteau said it's best to go online and book reservations early to obtain the lowest prices. One-way tickets can cost as little as $12 or as much as $40, she said, depending on the day of travel, the train and its popularity.

Reservations or more information also can be obtained by calling 800-USA-RAIL.

[Willie Green]

Cool looking RR Station!!!

Niles Amtrak Station

---

New Buffalo ridership increases more than 300 percent between 2009 and 20010

by Ray Gudas
Herald-Palladium
Tuesday, August 31, 2010

July ridership figures show a more than 300 percent rise in activity between 2009 and 2010 in New Buffalo.

The key difference is Amtrak moved its station last October from the Pere Marquette route on the city's south side to the Wolverine and Blue Water routes, which travel over tracks downtown.

The Blue Water and Wolverine trains account for three stops daily from Chicago to New Buffalo. The Pere Marquette makes one stop from Chicago.

Ryan Fellows, assistant to the city manager, said until rider surveys are taken it can't known for sure how many riders are Chicago commuters.

But when the number of people getting on or off in New Buffalo goes from 715 to 2,584 in a year, one can make a strong hypothesis.

"It's a very easy leap of faith to make," he said.

Leaders in Southwest Michigan communities served by Amtrak, from St. Joseph to Dowagiac, have stated hopes that their cities could become bedroom communities for the Chicago area.

New Buffalo leaders predicted the station shift would make New Buffalo more attractive to people like Ballard.

Ballard, the chief technology officer for the Niles Township High School District in Skokie, Ill., for the last 12 years, said he "fell in love" with the New Buffalo area about 10 years ago and ended up buying a nice house in the Timberlane section of New Buffalo.

The only downside is it's about 85 miles from his office.

Daily commuting was out of the question, so he bought a small condo just north of downtown Chicago that he uses during the work week, returning to Michigan every weekend. For three years he's been making the trip by rail instead of auto.

"I drive to work (from Chicago to Skokie) Monday through Thursday," the educator said, "but on Fridays I take the 'El' (Chicago's elevated train)."

That allows him to catch a Metra Rail commuter train that stops in nearby Morton Grove, Ill., for the 12-mile trip to downtown Chicago at the end of his work day.

The Metra line takes him directly to Union Station, on the west side of Chicago's Loop, where he can transfer onto Amtrak's 6 p.m. train to New Buffalo.

"I leave (work) at 4:45 (p.m. Central Standard Time), and I'll be in New Buffalo by 8:30 (p.m. Eastern Standard Time)," Ballard said.

Amtrak's schedule says 8:16, and Ballard concurs that the train is usually on time.

"The only choice I had (out of Chicago) was a 4 o'clock train (then the Pere Marquette), which required leaving work early to catch it," Ballard said.

As for the commute itself, Ballard said he very much appreciates not having to drive back and forth between Illinois and Michigan, especially on summer weekends, when the highways are packed with motorists.

"The drive can be four hours of aggravation" he said. "On the train, I have an iPod if I want to listen to music and an iPad if I want to get some work done."

That's not to say that the train doesn't get packed as well.

On a recent Sunday trip back to Illinois, Ballard said, the train was so full of what he presumed were day-trippers fro Chicago that some passengers had to sit in the cafe car for the 70-minute journey.

Even so, the educator remains sold on Amtrak: There's no chance of getting stuck in traffic, and somebody else is doing the driving.

Ballard has a second vehicle in New Buffalo to get around.

[ILS21R]

Yea!!! It looks like they sold a ticket.

[cripplecreek]

LOL I caught that too.

Any real traffic would come from South Bend because Niles isn’t exactly a metropolis.

[Paladin2]

"Amtrak, over Labor Day weekend, will add, on a test run basis, a fifth train on its Chicago-Detroit corridor"

This author is retarded.

There are six trains on the CHI-DET corridor. Five sets of hardware make three runs each day each way. It's kind of inefficient.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Only “over Labor Day weekend?” What kinda handle is that going to give them for regular workday commuters? Doesn’t make much sense to me,,, or am I misreading it?

[Paladin2]

"There's no chance of getting stuck in traffic,"

BS, there is all sorts of train traffic and rail construction/maintenance that creates jams. Not to speak of the occasional train wreck.

[cripplecreek]

Anything to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city of Niles.

[Paladin2]

"Ballard has a second vehicle in New Buffalo to get around. "

So I have an n^th vehicle in Bozeman, MT with no passenger train, only an airport and Interstate connections. It's good to have a massive SUV where you need one to actually get around.

[cripplecreek]

The horror of a Niles Traffic jam.

[Paladin2]

At least it looks like one could walk from the RR station to the airport or reverse.

[Paladin2]

Man, I tell ya, those stop lights sure can screw up a pleasant drive!

[Willie Green]

The horror of a Niles Traffic jam.

Nice looking community....
It helps explain why people would want to LIVE in Niles/New Buffalo and commute to Chicago...

[cripplecreek]

Meanwhile in the real world, few middle class folks (The kind of people who actually live in Niles) are commuting to Chicago.

[cripplecreek]

Apparently the masses are commuting to Chicago to work at McDonalds.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,208, and the median income for a family was $38,870. Males had a median income of $31,395 versus $22,991 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,584. About 9.9% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.8% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

[Willie Green]

Over 18K passengers used Niles Amtrak station in 2009.
Where do you think they were going-to or coming-from if it wasn't Chicago???

[Paladin2]

Michigan Central RR built some nice stations.

[Vaduz]

Main and second looking east?.

[Paladin2]

"Where do you think they were going-to or coming-from if it wasn't Chicago??? "

Detroit, Ann Arbor, + any other stop.

Chicago is over-rated and, for Amtrak, just a hub.

[Notary Sojac]

Yeah, taking the train has reduced the number of CO2 spewing, polar bear killing automobiles by ..... -1.

[cripplecreek]

Personally I suspect if those riders actually exist (which is doubtfull at best) they came from South Bend and are unlikely to commute on a daily basis. The population of the city is only a little over 12,000.