South Bend station

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 Capitol Limited between Chicago and Washington D.C.. 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.

South Bend, IN
Location	2702 West Washington Street, South Bend, Indiana
Coordinates	41.6782°N 86.2874°W
Owned by	Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	TRANSPO
Construction
Parking	Yes; free
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	SOB
History
Opened	July 7, 1970[1]
Passengers
2017	21,818[2]  2.01%
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Chicago Terminus Capitol Limited Elkhart toward Washington, D.C. Lake Shore Limited Elkhart toward New York or Boston South
Former services Preceding station NICTD Following station New Carlisle toward Millennium Station South Shore Line Terminus Preceding station Amtrak Following station Hammond–Whiting toward Chicago Pennsylvanian 1998–2003 Elkhart toward Philadelphia Chicago Terminus Lake Shore 1971–1972 Elkhart toward New York (Grand Central)

History

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 used this station instead of 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]

Connections

TRANSPO

• Route 2

Notes

1. Gregg, Ray (July 6, 1970). "South Shore Plans Dedication Tuesday". The South Bend Tribune. p. 11. Retrieved August 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2017, State of Indiana" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
3. Parrott, Jeff (19 July 2017). "How the South Shore took its current path". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 27 November 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.
6. Ogorek 2012, p. 62
7. Ogorek 2012, p. 93
8. "Tie that binds". Newspapers.com. The South Bend Tribune. 5 Jul 1992. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
9. Sulok, Nancy J. (14 May 1998). "If Transpo's electric buses have impact, it will be big shock". Newspapers.com. The South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
10. "Laporte County intermodal rail yard". WNDU. 2 September 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2019.

References

• Ogorek, Cynthia L. (2012). Along the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Rail Line. Images of America. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-738-59419-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Media related to South Bend station at Wikimedia Commons

• South Bend, IN – Amtrak
• South Bend Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
• South Bend (SOB)--Great American Stations (Amtrak)