Special: Monon Corridor Grand Opening!

Welcome to the very first special post on Aiden Audits Transit! This past Tuesday I had the incredible opportunity to ride the inaugural train on the South Shore Line’s newest branch line: the Monon Corridor! I got to meet many new people and got to go down in history as one of the very first people to ride this new extension of America’s last interurban line. I’m very excited to share this experience with you all!

This post will go through the experience and shenanigans of being on the first few runs of the Monon Corridor. I will have individual station reviews for each new station on the Corridor, but this is not one of them! I will cover my thoughts on the line overall, future plans for the corridor, as well as give anecdotes of my adventure on the Corridor.

What is the Monon Corridor?

The Monon Corridor is an 8 mile branch line of the existing South Shore Line interurban, which runs between Chicago Millennium Station and South Bend Airport. Owned and operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), the South Shore Line is America’s one and only train line that can be called an interurban service. (Sorry Norristown High Speed Line fans.) An interurban line is a commuter rail line that runs between 2 cities, as sort of a middle ground between full on passenger railroads and urban street railways.

Tactile map of the South Shore Line service with the Monon Corridor in red

The new Monon Corridor branch serves the towns of Hammond, Munster, and Dyer, Indiana. Plans for the new corridor were being initialized as early as 2006, when the NICTD began looking into an extension of the South Shore Line to Valparaiso due to population growth in Northwest Indiana. However, due to the lack of projected ridership, as well as issues with attaining trackage rights to Valpo, the idea was modified. After much analysis, the decision to fund a branch line to Dyer was approved by the Indiana General Assembly, and groundbreaking began in October 2020.

Transfers

The majority of Monon Corridor trains are shuttle trains, meaning they only travel between Munster/Dyer station, the southern terminus of the line, and Hammond Gateway, the point where the Monon Corridor meets the preexisting South Shore Line, now dubbed the Lakeshore Corridor. To transfer between services, simply get off at Hammond Gateway and walk along the ramp up to the Monon Corridor platforms. Select trains will travel directly between Chicago and Munster/Dyer, so make sure you know if you have to transfer before you board your train.

Look for the transfer icon at Hammond Gateway when planning your trip

The Inaugural Train

The Monon Corridor was expected to open in early 2025. However, due to electrical issues as well as administrative issues when building an underpass at Munster/Dyer, the opening was delayed to March 31, 2026. The Lakeshore platform at Hammond Gateway was packed, and the Monon platform was no different. The media had their own tent to view the ribbon cutting of the new branch line, which was closed off to the public. There was notable excitement in the air as I met up with and later joined a group of transit enthusiasts who are just as interested in urbanism as I am.

Stormy Kara enjoying a burger in front of the Monon Corridor platform at Hammond Gateway

The inaugural train left Hammond Gateway at 11:45 and was pretty packed. Munster/Dyer was also packed with people, from Indiana bigwigs to young transit enthusiasts like myself. Lots of fun was to be had as I ran around capturing everything I needed for my Munster/Dyer station review. (Which will be coming soon!) Special shoutout to Stormy Kara and his YouTube channel for covering the shenanigans and providing an incredible overview of the new service and its issues, which we will cover shortly. (Link to his channel will be down below.)

The Issues

An incredible amount of parking at South Hammond station

The new corridor provides a fantastic opportunity for many in the Northwest Indiana region. However, the land use around these stations leaves a bit to be desired. Munster/Dyer and South Hammond both are Park & Ride stations, with an incredible amount of parking lots surrounding them. While it makes sense for Munster/Dyer, with it being the end of the line and it attracting commuters from communities such as St John, Ceder Lake, or Lowell, it makes less sense for a station like South Hammond to have the vast majority of its walkshed to be taken up by parking. One other reason for this is most likely the density that this branch serves, with the urban development along the line getting progressively less dense as you travel from Hammond to Dyer.

Those issues are quite noticeable, however the biggest issue with the Monon Corridor is the schedule on the line. Stormy Kara has a great rant on how bad it is in his latest video (linked below!), but to summarize, the transfers between the Monon and Lakeshore Corridors can be incredibly inconsistent and may lead to waits as long as 48 minutes at Hammond Gateway in the middle of the day. Not to mention how infrequent trains are on the corridor in general, with waits up to 90 minutes between trains. While the corridor is single tracked, it’s incredibly hard to believe that it’s that difficult to run trains frequently on tracks owned and operated by NICTD.

What’s Next?

Single family housing just outside of Munster/Dyer station

When riding the Monon Corridor, I definitely got the feeling that this branch is unfinished. That this is just the beginning of greater, more expansive transit for northwest Indiana. Turns out that that is exactly right. On the existing corridor, plans are already in motion to build a fourth station in downtown Hammond, which would be an excellent addition that I’m surprised didn’t already come with the corridor. Furthermore, studies are being done to extend the Monon corridor to places like Lowell or Valparaiso.

Ramp to Monon Corridor trains at Hammond Gateway

One of the main reasons that this corridor exists is to serve a developing area. Northwestern Indiana is developing rapidly with lots of housing and retail across the region. That’s not even including the opportunities that the Chicago Bears may bring if they decide to move into the region. The Monon Corridor will be there to serve all of it, making it even more enticing to both families and sports fans alike.

Conclusion

The Monon corridor is a big step in the right direction for the ever expanding northwest Indiana. This service will be integral for commuters in the area, and as more development is created, the more use this service will get. However, if the issues discussed aren’t fixed in the future, I could see its usefulness begin to wane. My time on the corridor was full of fun, and I was glad I was able to attend this incredible event. The future is bright for the Monon corridor and northwest Indiana as a whole, so long as the NICTD makes the improvements that this service is in need of.

Stormy Kara and fellow YouTuber Car-Free Keith interacting at Munster/Dyer station

Finally, a big shoutout to everyone who attended the opening of the Monon Corridor for making the experience amazing. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly, and I’m glad to have found a place among the Chicago Urbanist community. Link to Stormy’s channel can be found here.