UPDATE: All Power Restored, Soutrh Shore Trains on Schedule
Bob Roberts, WBBM NewsRadio 780 Reporting
It couldn't happen at a worse time for the South Shore Line -- wires damaged in the midst of its crush of Taste of Chicago traffic.
A passing train damaged nearly a mile of wire between the Dune Park and Michigan City stations Saturday, delaying service on the electrically-operated railroad.
The South Shore elected to borrow diesel locomotives from its sister freight railroad to pull the trains through the unpowered area until enough of the wire could be repaired so that the trains could coast through, with full repairs to be made before Sunday's first trains make their trips.
But spokesman John Parsons said the result has been substantial, 45-to-60-minute delays on one of its busiest weekends of the year.
Parsons said the South Shore carries more than 15,000 riders a day during the week and 10,000 on weekends and the Fourth during Taste. On a normal, non-Taste weekend, the railroad carries about 5,000 riders.
Problems with the wires have become increasingly frequent on the South Shore Line, and the railroad is in the early stages of a program to replace the catenary wires directly above the tracks. The wires carry the 1,500 volts DC needed to power the trains. Parsons said some of the wire has been in place since the 1920s and is long overdue for replacement.
The wires have been replaced most of the way between Gary and the Kensington/115th Street station on Chicago's South Side, where the South Shore enters and leaves the Metra Electric tracks for the trip downtown. Parsons said work has yet to be scheduled east of Gary, but is expected to be done in two phases: between Gary and Michigan City, and between Michigan City and South Bend.
The section west of Gary is easiest because the line is virtually all double-track. East of Gary, most of the South Shore is single-track, and its owner, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, is trying to determine the way to perform the work with the least impact on riders.
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