On Wednesday, September 28, Congressman Visclosky announced that the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has moved the South Shore expansion forward into the Project Development phase.
Congressman Pete Visclosky stated, “I am excited to learn that the FTA has recognized the value of the South Shore expansion through this designation. It is another successful step forward to not just expand South Shore service, but to build a regional economy that provides innumerable benefits for current Northwest Indiana residents and future generations. I have no doubt that the success of this designation is due to the resilient efforts of NICTD, as well as the RDA, the State of Indiana, and all of the contributing communities. Their collective support has generated this outstanding forward momentum. I will continue to work very hard to support the efforts to have commuter trains running on the new expanded track as soon as possible.”
Michael Noland, President of NICTD, stated, “This is great news. We have been working closely with the Congressman’s office, the FTA, and communities that would be served by the West Lake Corridor and look forward to advancing the project through the environmental and preliminary engineering process. Improving access to jobs by making commuter rail service faster and more convenient will lay the ground work for new private development throughout the region.”
Bill Hanna, President and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, stated, “This is a key step toward completion of the West Lake expansion of the South Shore line. We are now closer than ever before to the largest commuter rail investment in Indiana history – an investment that will create thousands of jobs in Northwest Indiana and provide world-class access to Chicago, the ninth-largest economy on the planet. We are grateful for the support of Congressman Visclosky, the State of Indiana and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District in this endeavor, and look forward to continuing to work together to see the new line through to completion.”
For additional information on the FTA grant process, click here.