South Bend Tribune
NILES — Need to be in Chicago early — say, 7:30 a.m. — and don’t want to drive? At least this weekend, Amtrak is making it possible for people who live in southwestern Michigan.
Rick Harnish, of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, announced Tuesday that Amtrak, over Labor Day weekend, will add, on a test run basis, a fifth train on its Chicago-Detroit corridor that will provide service between Chicago and Kalamazoo. Among the stops will be Niles and the beachfront station in New Buffalo.
According to Harnish, if enough riders respond to the new service, the new train could become permanent. And that would be good news for southwestern Michigan in general and Niles and New Buffalo in particular, said Lisa Croteau, program manager for Niles DDA Main Street, because of the potential impact on economic development.
“Right now, there’s nothing that gets you there (Chicago) that allows us to be a commuter location. The earliest you can get there from Niles is 11:59 a.m., Chicago (Central Standard) time, which is about 1 p.m. our time (Eastern Standard),” Croteau said. “With this new train, it gets you there for the work day. Or you could go to Chicago and shop, do dinner and take in an early show. ”
Harnish said much the same thing.”This fills that key gap. You can spend all day in Chicago,” he said.
Although the test train won’t leave Chicago until 10 p.m. CST, arriving back in Niles at 12:30 a.m. EST, riders would have the option of returning on one of the earlier trains, Croteau said. The one that would figure to be most popular with commuters is scheduled to leave Chicago at 6 p.m. CST (7 p.m. EST), she said, and arrive in Niles at 8:43 p.m. EST.
Riders who board westbound trains in Niles generally can count on arriving in Chicago in two hours or less, Croteau said, adding that return trips take about 10 minutes extra. But those times would be reduced considerably should high-speed rail service come into play, making train travel more popular and opening the door to further economic development opportunities.
Harnish said the westbound test train offering the 7:30 a.m. CST arrivals in the Windy City will operate Friday through Tuesday while the eastbound test train will operate Thursday through Monday. The trains are intended to service passengers who are likely to be off work over the Labor Day weekend, he said.
A check of Amtrak’s Web site (Amtrak.com) Tuesday revealed that one-way tickets on Friday’s test train between Niles and Chicago would cost $16 each. Passengers would leave Niles at 6:33 a.m. EST and would need to pick up their tickets onboard, as the depot’s ticket agent doesn’t report for duty until 9:30 a.m.As with other modes of travel, Croteau said it’s best to go online and book reservations early to obtain the lowest prices. One-way tickets can cost as little as $12 or as much as $40, she said, depending on the day of travel, the train and its popularity.
Reservations or more information also can be obtained by calling 800-USA-RAIL.
Post Link: http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100901/News01/9010330/1130
