High Speed Trains Rushing ToPlymouth?
By Stacey Creasy
PLYMOUTH � If the Indiana Department of Transportation gets its wish, there will be a high-speed rail system that would make several stops across northern Indiana, including a pair of stops in Plymouth.
�It would be a hub-and-spoke system,� said InDOT Railroad Section Manager Michael Scime. �The high-speed rail from Chicago to Cleveland would go out to all the metropolitan areas across northern Indiana.�
Scime said nothing is definite at this point, but as many as nine trains could pass through Plymouth each day with one train in each direction stopping in the city.
�That would be a big economic boom for us,� said Plymouth Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Doug Anspach. �Having that infrastructure coming through Plymouth.�
InDOT has been working with nine other states on a high-speed rail system. On Thursday, InDOT, the Ohio Railroad Development Commission and Amtrak released the results of a year-long study examining alternative high-speed rail passenger routes across northern Indiana.
The study, prepared by Transportation Economic and Management Systems recommends restoring passenger rail service to Fort Wayne while improving existing passenger rail service to the South Bend area.
Scime said Plymouth is included in the South Bend area.
The TEMS study looked at two alternative routes between Chicago and Cleveland as part of the planning process for the Midwest Regional Rail Initia-tive. The MWRRI consists of nine states exploring the possibilities of high-speed rail service connecting a Chicago hub to major Midwestern cities such as Indianapolis. Cleveland, Detroit and Cincinnati. The goal of the TEMS study was to select the passenger rail alternative that would serve the largest number of Hoosiers at the lowest possible cost.
InDOT Commissioner J. Bryan Nicol said, when the study began they looked at intercity service between Chicago and Cleveland with two alternative routes, one through South Bend, the other through Fort Wayne, with funding for only one of the options.
In order to serve both areas, a creative solution was needed.
�It was listening to the public that provided the foundation for this new approach to provide quality rail transportation to both communities,� Scime added. �This concept emerged following input from the studies technical advisory committee, letters we received from the public, and input we heard last summer during a round of public outreach meetings.�
The TEMS study shows that service to Cleveland via Fort Wayne will cost $320 million less to build and operate than the same service would have cost via the South Bend route.
This is due to the high volume of rail traffic already using the South Bend route and the very expensive prospect of having to separate completely the freight and passenger trains.
The TEMS study goes on to recommend that, by spending only about $94 million of the $320 million savings, existing train service provided by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District could be vastly improved.
�By building the new route through Fort Wayne and simultaneously improving NICTD�s existing operation to South Bend, both communities can benefit from direct connections to the new high-speed rail network� Scime stated. �Ridership estimates for this combined routing alternative show that 180,000 more Indiana residents will take the train than if only one of the other routing options has been chosen.�
Under the plan the trip time between South Bend and Chicago would be reduce by 30 minutes with the addition of new express service.
Scime told the Pilot News InDOT is in the planning stage now which will be followed by the environmental stage, alternative assessments and finally the construction phases, if the funding is there.
�There is still a very long way to go before anyone will be able to board the first train,� Nichol said. �However, the study released today provides a solid plan on which to build the best high speed rail service to the great number of potential riders when funding is committed to establish the system.�
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