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South Bend station

Coordinates: 41°40′42″N 86°17′15″W / 41.6782°N 86.2874°W / 41.6782; -86.2874
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South Bend, IN
General information
Location2702 West Washington Street
South Bend, Indiana
United States
Coordinates41°40′42″N 86°17′15″W / 41.6782°N 86.2874°W / 41.6782; -86.2874
Owned byNorthern Indiana Commuter Transportation District
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport South Bend TRANSPO: 2
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: SOB
History
OpenedJuly 7, 1970[1]
Passengers
FY 202319,481[2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Chicago
Terminus
Floridian Elkhart
toward Miami
Lake Shore Limited Elkhart
Former services
Preceding station NICTD Following station
New Carlisle South Shore Line Terminus
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Hammond–Whiting
toward Chicago
Pennsylvanian
1998–2003
Elkhart
Chicago
Terminus
Lake Shore
1971–1972
Elkhart
Capitol Limited
1990–2024
Elkhart
Location
Map

South Bend is a train station in South Bend, Indiana. It is served by Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited between Chicago, Boston and New York City, and Floridian between Chicago and Miami. The station was built by the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad in 1970; South Shore Line trains continued to use it until 1992.

History

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Until 1970, South Shore Line interurbans served downtown South Bend at LaSalle and Michigan, where there had been a stop since 1908.[3] The city had long wanted to eliminate street running, while the South Shore was looking to reduce costs as passenger traffic declined. The South Shore embarked on a program to consolidate its operations in South Bend. This included constructing the current station building at Meade and Washington and selling the old downtown station building, which had opened in 1921.

On August 7, 1969, South Bend mayor Lloyd M. Allen announced that the railroad would move its station. Allen claimed that for the past five years he had been working to persuade them to move the station.[3] The station opened in 1970.

When Amtrak took over intercity rail service in 1971, it moved intercity rail service in South Bend to this station, away from the larger Union Station.[4][5][6]

The South Shore Line moved its terminus to a new terminal at the South Bend International Airport in November 1992, although the track that used to terminate here was retained.[7]

In the 1990s, there was some discussion of moving Amtrak to the Union Station.[8] Subsequently, there were plans to build a new Amtrak station component at South Bend Transpo's South Street Station.[9] Ultimately, this never materialized.[10]

In the late-2010s, returning the South Shore Line to this location was studied as one of several options for replacing the current South Shore Line station.[11][12]

On November 10, 2024, the Capitol Limited was merged with the Silver Star as the Floridian.[13]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Gregg, Ray (July 6, 1970). "South Shore Plans Dedication Tuesday". The South Bend Tribune. p. 11. Retrieved August 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Indiana" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Parrott, Jeff (July 19, 2017). "How the South Shore took its current path". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  4. ^ "Interurban Moves into New Station". The South Bend News-Times. August 3, 1921. p. 4. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  5. ^ "South Shore Line Starts New Station". The News-Palladium. March 28, 1970. p. 15. Retrieved October 10, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Ogorek 2012, p. 62
  7. ^ Ogorek 2012, p. 93
  8. ^ "Tie that binds". The South Bend Tribune. July 5, 1992. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  9. ^ Sulok, Nancy J. (May 14, 1998). "If Transpo's electric buses have impact, it will be big shock". The South Bend Tribune. Retrieved January 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  10. ^ "Laporte County intermodal rail yard". WNDU. September 2, 2007. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  11. ^ Steele, Andrew (April 21, 2019). "Five options for new South Shore station in South Bend". Northwest Indiana Times. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "South Bend Station Alternatives" (PDF). AECOM. April 19, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  13. ^ "Amtrak Launching the Floridian, with Daily Service Between Chicago and Miami" (Press release). Amtrak. September 23, 2024. Archived from the original on September 23, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.

References

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