East Chicago station

East Chicago is a train station at 5615 Indianapolis Boulevard in East Chicago, Indiana. It serves the South Shore Line commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois to South Bend, Indiana. The station was built in 1956 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. Prior to that, South Shore Line trains stopped in downtown East Chicago. In 2005 the station was remodeled with high level platforms to assist passengers with disabilities, and to decrease station dwell times.

East Chicago
Location	5615 Indianapolis Boulevard East Chicago, Indiana
Coordinates	41°36′43″N 87°28′46″W
Owned by	NICTD
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	East Chicago Bus Transit
Construction
Parking	1,200 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	4
History
Opened	1956
Rebuilt	1982, 2005
Electrified	1500v DC
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	1,698 (average weekday)[1]
Services
Preceding station NICTD Following station Hammond toward Millennium Station South Shore Line Gary Airport toward South Bend Airport

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.[2] The station is equipped with ticket vending machines; staffed service ended in 2017.[3] Adjacent to the station is a parking lot with capacity for 1,200 cars.[2]

NICTD approved a $4.4 million construction project in March 2019 to increase passenger access at East Chicago.[4]

Bus connections

East Chicago Transit

• Route 1
• Route 2
• Route 4

References

1. "2018 State of the System" (PDF). Metra. August 2018. p. 185.
2. "South Shore Stations, Locations, Address, Directions". Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
3. 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.
4. Zorn, Tim (March 25, 2019). "NICTD: $4.4M East Chicago train platform project to begin". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 25, 2019.

External links

• Media related to East Chicago train station at Wikimedia Commons
• South Shore Line - Stations