Looking for a Seat

He has just boarded the northbound Hoosier State at Lafayette, Indiana. Now comes the task of finding a place to sit. The image was made from an elevated plaza overlooking the Amtrak station.

Hanging With the Hoosier State in Its Final Week

Boarding has begun for the Chicago-bound Hoosier State on June 25 at Indianapolis Union Station.

By the time I arrived in Indianapolis Amtrak’s Hoosier State had just one week left to live.

I would experience No. 851 three times before it made its final trip on June 30, riding it once and photographing it trackside twice.

I have ridden the Hoosier State several times but not since August 1991.

Interestingly, my purpose for riding the Hoosier State nearly 28 years later would be the same as why I rode it in 1991.

I was moving and needed to go back to my former hometown to pick up a car and drive it to my new hometown.

In 1991 I had driven from Indianapolis to State College, Pennsylvania. In 2019 I drove from Cleveland to Indianapolis.

Boarding of No. 851 began shortly after I arrived at Indianapolis Union Station on the morning of June 25.

I was the second passenger to board the Horizon fleet coach to which most Indy passengers were assigned. The car was about two-thirds full.

The consist also included an Amfleet coach, an Amfleet food service car and two P42DC locomotives, Nos. 77 and 55.

We departed on time but a few minutes later received a penalty application near CP Holt that required a conversation with the CSX PTC desk.

We would later encounter a delay between Crawfordsville and Lafayette due to signal issues.

Yet there was no freight train interference en route that I observed. We stopped briefly in Chicago so a Metra train could go around us.

That was probably because we were early. We halted at Chicago Union Station 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

I had heard the former Monon can be rough riding, but I didn’t think it was any worse than other Amtrak routes I’ve ridden.

There wasn’t any of the abrupt sideways jerking that I’ve experienced on other Amtrak trains.

The journey did seem to be slow going at times, particularly through the CSX yard in Lafayette; on the former Grand Trunk Western west of Munster, Indiana; through the Union Pacific yard on the former Chicago & Eastern Illinois; and within Chicago.

Overall, the experience was much the same as riding any other Amtrak Midwest corridor train although it featured an entrance into Chicago that I had not experienced before in daylight.

The crew said nothing about it being the last week of operation for Nos. 850 and 851.

My next encounter with the Hoosier State came in Lafayette on June 28.

No. 851 arrived on time with a more typical consist that included cars being ferried from Beach Grove shops to Chicago.

These included a Superliner sleeping car, a Viewliner baggage car, a Horizon food service car, and a Heritage baggage car in addition to the standard Hoosier State consist of three cars. On the point was P42DC No. 99.

I was positioned next to the former Big Four station at Riehle Plaza so I could photograph above the train.

Although a sunny morning, the tracks were more in shadows than I would have liked. Nonetheless I was pleased, overall, with what I came away with.

After No 851 departed – it operates on CSX as P317, an original Hoosier State number – I went over to Fifth Street to photograph it sans railroad tracks.

One stretch of rails has been left in the street in front of the former Monon passenger station.

My last encounter with the Hoosier State would be my briefest.

I drove to Linden to photograph the last northbound run at the railroad museum at the former joint Monon-Nickel Plate depot.

No. 851 was 24 minutes late leaving Indianapolis Union Station and about that late at Crawfordsville.

It had a consist similar to what I had seen in Lafayette two days earlier. P42DC No. 160 had a battered nose with some of its silver paint peeling away.

I wasn’t aware until I saw them that two former Pennsylvania Railroad cars had been chartered to operate on the rear of the last Hoosier State.

They were Colonial Crafts and Frank Thomson. The latter carried a Pennsy keystone tail sign on its observation end emblazoned with the Hoosier State name.

It was a nice touch and after those cars charged past the Hoosier State was gone in more ways than one.

 

That’s my Horizon coach reflected in the lower level of the Lafayette station.

 

Watching the countryside slide by west of Monon, Indiana.

The Hoosier State has come to a halt on Track 16 at Chicago Union Station. That’s the inbound City of New Orleans to the left.

A crowd lines the platform in Lafayette as the Hoosier State arrives en route to Chicago.

The former Big Four station in Lafayette was moved to its current location to serve Amtrak. At one time it also served intercity buses.

Pulling out of Lafayette on the penultimate northbound trip to Chicago.

P42DC No. 160, which pulled the last northbound Amtrak Train No. 851 had a well-worn nose.

Two former Pennsylvania Railroad passenger cars brought up the rear of the last northbound Hoosier State.

All Aboard in Indianapolis

Passengers begin boarding the northbound Hoosier State at Indianapolis Union Station on June 25.

It was the last week of operation of Train No. 851, which operated on the days that the Cardinal did not run to Chicago.

Most of those boarding were assigned to the Horizon fleet coach shown above. The exception was those holding business class tickets who boarded the Amfleet food service car ahead of the Horizon coach.

The Hoosier State left Indianapolis for the final time on June 30.

Not Much Longer to Run

Amtrak’s northbound Hoosier State sits on Track 16 at Chicago Union Station on June 25 after having completed a trip that originated at Indianapolis Union Station.

Train 851 arrived at CUS 20 minutes early on this day.

It was the last week of operation of Nos. 850 and 851 after the Indiana legislature declined to continue its funding of the quad-weekly service.

In the background is the equipment that arrived earlier on the City of New Orleans.

Amtrak Spokesman: We May have Underestimated Difficulty of Keeping State Funding of Hoosier State

An Amtrak spokesman acknowledged in an interview with Indiana Public Media that the passenger carrier may have underestimated how difficult it would be to convince Indiana lawmakers to continue funding the Chicago-Indianapolis Hoosier State.

“People don’t understand how this works, because culturally the Cardinal comes through there [Indianapolis] late at night or early in the morning, [and] people don’t see it. People don’t have a picture of how this works,” said Amtrak’s Marc Magliari.

In the interview, Magliari said Indiana gave up on the Hoosier State before it had a chance to be successful.

The Hoosier State ran for the final time on June 30 after the state legislature declined to continue its $3 million annual funding of the train, which operated four days a week on days that the Chicago-New York Cardinal did not operate.

Magliari drew a comparison between the Hoosier State and the Chicago-Grand Rapids, Michigan, Pere Marquette, which is funded by the Michigan Department of Transportation.

He said the Hoosier State and Pere Marquette routes are the approximate same distance of 181 miles.

“We have the same seat size on the Pere Marquette that you saw on the Hoosier Line, the same food service that you saw on the Hoosier Line, is on the Pere Marquette, and the same Wi-Fi,” Magliari said.

He said Michigan as a state is reaping the benefits of a long term investment in rail.

“No matter how wide you make the highway, it will probably get filled up,” Magliari said. “It’s cheaper to put money into rails than it is highway, rail improvements can last 10 or 20 years, you can see how long it takes for pavement to wear out.”

MDOT spent spent $4 million on the Pere Marquette in fiscal year 2019.
Michigan officials told Indiana Public Media that the state funding of the Pere Marquette equals about $41 per passenger per year, but they make some of that money back through ticket sales and concessions.

Indiana Public Media operates TV station WTIU and FM station WFIU, both based in Bloomington.

Hoosier State Goes Out in Style

Operating on CSX as P317, Amtrak’s northbound Hoosier State passes through Linden, Indiana, between Crawfordsville and Lafayette on Sunday.

Amtrak’s Chicago-Indianapolis Hoosier State made its last trips on Sunday with two private cars riding on the rear of the train to mark the occasion.

The cars, both of which are painted in a Pennsylvania Railroad livery, were the ex-PRR lounge car Colonial Crafts and blunt-end observation car Frank Thomson.

The latter carried a tailsign in the shape of a Pennsy keystone with the Hoosier State name on it.

The cars were chartered by Keiwoon Krause and Gideon Comanse, who sold tickets to 40 passengers.

Otherwise, the last trips of Nos. 850 and 851 were just another day on the railroad even if it was the last day.

Seven passengers boarded the last northbound Hoosier State in Crawfordsville while the trip was sold out between Chicago and Lafayette.

The consist of the train was its usual two coaches and a business class/café car along with a deadheading Superliner sleeper, a heritage baggage car and a Horizon fleet coach.

In Crawfordsville, there was a banner thanking the Amtrak crews who worked the train.

No. 851 was 24 minutes late departing Indianapolis and 31 minutes late arriving in Chicago.

The Chicago-Indianapolis route will continue to be served by Amtrak’s Chicago-New York Cardinal and Greyhound has added a few additional Thruway bus trips between the two cities that will stop in Lafayette.

Hoosier State to Make Final Trips on Sunday

Amtrak’s Hoosier State boards passengers at Indianapolis Union Station on June 25 during its last week of operation.

The Chicago-Indianapolis Hoosier State will make it last trips on Sunday.

Amtrak is “suspending” the train effective July 1 because the State of Indiana declined to renew its funding.

Nos. 850 and 851 operate on the days that the Chicago-New York Cardinal does not operate.

From Indianapolis to Chicago, No. 50 runs on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. In the other direction No. 51 operates on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The Cardinal will continue to operate after the Hoosier State is discontinued.

The Hoosier State appeared to be doomed once Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb sent a budget request to the state legislature last February that omitted funding for the train, which was also funded in part by various online cities and counties.

Holcomb cited falling ridership for ending the funding.

The Hoosier State began in October 1980 as a demonstration route. It was discontinued in September 1995 as part of a major Amtrak service restructuring and retrenchment but reinstated in July 1998 in part to give Amtrak a more reliable means of ferrying equipment between Chicago and the Beech Grove shops in suburban Indianapolis.

The Hoosier State has skated on thin ice since 2013 when Indiana became the last state to agree to a funding plan mandated by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 that required state and local governments to pay for Amtrak routes of less than 750 miles.

Initially, the Indiana Department of Transportation chose Corridor Capitol, a Chicago-based rail passenger services development company, to manage and operate the Hoosier State.

However, INDOT severed ties with Corridor Capitol in November 2014 and Amtrak continued to operate Nos. 850 and 851 on a short-term contract.

INDOT said the following spring that the Hoosier State would end on April 1, 2015, due to regulations of the Federal Railroad Administration that would have required the state to act as a rail carrier, despite the state owning no tracks or trains.

INDOT appealed to the FRA and the Hoosier State continued to operate under a short-term agreement.

In August 2015, INDOT reached a four-year agreement with Iowa Pacific and Amtrak to operate the train.

IP was to provide providing and maintain the rolling stock as well as provide food service and marketing.

Amtrak would provide ticketing services and train operating crews.

Iowa Pacific said in January 2017 it was withdrawing from the contract after INDOT refused to increase its financial compensation.

Starting March 1, 2017, the Hoosier State became an all Amtrak operation.

Efforts to emend the budget in the legislature to put back funding for the Hoosier State failed and Amtrak said in April that the train would be “suspended” on July 1.

At one point Amtrak said it has reached an agreement with CSX to reduce the running time and that the Hoosier State would be rescheduled in late April to provide better times at Indianapolis.

But those changes were never made and it is unclear if they will eventually be applied to the Cardinal.

The Hoosier State is thus poised to become the Amtrak train to be discontinued in several years and the first to end due to PRIAA requirements.

Federal Grant to Help Rebuild Chicago Junction

A busy and often congested Chicago railroad junction used by Amtrak will get an upgrade with the help of federal funding.

The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded a $19.2 million CRISI grant to the Chicago Region Environment and Transportation Efficiency program to reconfigure Dolton Junction interlocking in Dolton and Riverdale, Illinois.
The interlocking is used by more than 100 freight and passenger trains of CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian National, Union Pacific and the Indiana Harbor Belt.

The work will involve upgrading and reconfiguring the connections, including the replacement of a NS connection between the CSX and IHB lines.

A third mainline will be built to provide direct access from CSX and Barr Yard to the UP mainline.

Crossovers will be built between two IHB mainlines, the connection between IHB and UP will be upgraded and remote control will be installed to automate Dolton Tower.

The project extends from 136th Place in Riverdale on the north to Monroe Street in Dolton on the south, and from Eggleston Avenue on the west to Center Street on the east.

Amtrak trains using the junction include the Cardinal and the soon to be discontinued Hoosier State.

CREATE said the work once completed will raise freight train speeds on multiple routes from 15 mph to 30 mph.

That will mean less potential for Amtrak trains to be delayed passing through the interlocking.

OurBus to Seek to Fill Gap Left by Hoosier State Demise

A New York-based bus line will seek to fill the void being left when Amtrak’s Hoosier State is discontinued on July 1 between Chicago and Indianapolis.

OurBus announced that it will operate service between the two cities for two months on a trial basis to test the market.

The company might face some stiff competition as Greyhound has eight roundtrips daily between Chicago and Indianapolis while Megabus has six roundtrips.

“We know the train is being taken away,” said OurBus co-founder Alxel Hellman. “We think it means there are a lot of people who are looking for a new transportation option. The routes can go wherever they need to be.”

OurBus plans to lease buses from Gold Shield Transportation in Indianapolis. The buses will have reclining seats and WiFi.

Hellman described them as “high-end buses” that are typically chartered for business conferences or traveling sports teams.

The OurBus service will initially only serve Chicago and Indianapolis, but Hellman said if 100 or more people express interest in a stop by going to the company’s website the service will add it to the schedule.

The Hoosier State, which operates quad-weekly on days that Amtrak’s Chicago-New York Cardinal does not operate, serves intermediate stations in Indiana at Crawfordsville, Lafayette, Rensselaer and Dyer.

The initial fare will be $10 but increase to between $20 and $40.

Although schedules and boarding sites are still being worked out, OurBus said the daily roundtrip will leave Indy in the morning and Chicago in the evening, similar to the current schedule of the Hoosier State.

OurBus has 15 regular routes, mostly in the Northeast and Southeast. This would be the company’s first route in the Midwest.

Hellman said his company, which was founded in 2016, is different from other bus lines because it can quickly adapt to changing needs.

He said OurBus also can offer flexible routes that only run some days of the year to serve, for example, college students returning home to campus before or after semester breaks.

Fort Wayne Group Pressing Ahead for Rail Service

The pending discontinuance of the Chicago-Indianapolis Hoosier State is not discouraging Fort Wayne, Indiana, interests seeking to revive intercity rail service.

The Northern Indiana Rail Passenger Alliance is working to establish a route between Chicago and Columbus, Ohio, that would pass through Fort Wayne.

Both Fort Wayne and Columbus previously had Amtrak service but lost it. Columbus fell off the Amtrak route map in October 1979 with the discontinuance of the National Limited while Fort Wayne lost the Broadway Limited and Capitol Limited in late 1990 when both trains were rerouted.

The Indiana General Assembly recently adopted a two-year budget that did not include continued funding for the quad-weekly Hoosier State.

But NIPRA officials say the state’s ending of Hoosier State funding won’t affect their work although it could affect it somewhat.

“It makes our job that much more difficult in getting the story out that the investment in passenger rail in our corridor will have an economic development payoff and attract young professionals to Fort Wayne and attract visitors to Fort Wayne,” said Rich Juram, NIPRA’s board president.

Nonetheless, he said “there’s not a direct relationship between that situation and the project here in northern Indiana, the line from Chicago to Fort Wayne and then continuing on from Fort Wayne to Columbus.”

Juram said his organization is sad to see the Hoosier State end, but said that service “was woefully inadequate for the market.”

Geoff Paddock, a Fort Wayne City Council member who favors the Chicago-Columbus service said losing the Hoosier State will hurt in the sense that the bigger the footprint is for passenger rail the better it is for having rail as a transportation option.

“Eliminating that funding and that investment in that line could be a detriment to our efforts to bring passenger rail back to Fort Wayne,” he said.

Paddock said one takeaway about the demise of the Hoosier State is that passenger advocates need to work with state legislators to make their case.

The Chicago-Columbus service would not be cheap to develop as it has been proposed.

It would require capital costs of $898 million to rebuilt track, signals and other infrastructure to support two daily roundtrips with a top speed of 79 mph.

The cost of four roundtrips traveling 110 mph would be $1.23 billion.

Advocates for the service say that money would largely need to come from state and federal funds.

Paddock said the Chicago-Columbus route may be in a more favorable position than was the Hoosier State because it has better tracks.

In the meantime, supporters of the route are working on an environmental impact study.