ALL ABOARD INDIANA The Official Newsletter of the Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance June 2015 First, the easy part: About the time you are reading this arti- cle (early June) the new Hoosier State consist (the engine and cars to be used) will be undergoing its final inspec- tion by a veritable alphabet soup of state and federal inspectors. The three car and engine consist will be gone over carefully by the FRA (Federal Rail Administration) for equipment safety compliance, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) will inspect the food service, ADA inspectors (Americans with Disabilities Act) will ensure handicap compliance, and DOT inspectors and INDOT observers will also be involved. This heightened level of oversight is in part due to the recent passenger fatalities on the busy Northeast Corridor. Once the static tests and inspections are successfully completed, the consist will be cleared for a trial run on the Hoosier State route from Chicago to Indianapolis and then return to the Iowa Pacific facility in Bensenville, Illinois. The date for this round trip is tentatively set for June 10 but is subject to change. The trip will accommodate only essential personnel and is not open for special guests or general passengers. Both INDOT and Iowa Pacific Holdings remain confident that the new Hoosier State will be ready to begin operations on Wednesday, July 1 with southbound service on train #850 from Chicago to Indianapolis. By all accounts the quality of the passen- ger experience anticipated for the new consist will be a noticeable improvement over the standard Heritage-era fleet of passenger cars. Now, the hard part: While much has been accom- plished over the past thirty-four months to build awareness and support for the continuation of this two-state passenger service, the next nineteen months will be critical for the long-term (continued) Hoosier State : Now Comes the Hard Part By Arvid Olson, Greater Lafayette Commerce IN THIS ISSUE: Page Two—Five Faith, Grace (College), and Rail Page Six College-Aged Train Advocates Highlight Indy‘s Train Day Page Seven Are You Ready for a Commuter Line Between Muncie and Indy? Indiana Crossrails: Building a Passion for Rail Transit (continued through page 9) Page Ten Use Amtrak Thruways Buses: Summer Vacations on Amtrak IPRA Joins Amtrak in Sympathy for Crash Victims Page Eleven Ft. Wayne‘s Baker Street Station Site of IPRA April Board Meeting Page Twelve Lafayette Repairs Continue NARP Annual Fall Conference Page Thirteen For More Information... Contributors Website: www.indianahighspeedrail.org Facebook: Hoosiers for Passenger Rail or Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance Volume 2, Number 6 As We Go To Press: The Tier I Environmental Impact Study for the proposed Chicago to Columbus, Ohio, passenger rail line as submitted to the Federal Railroad Ad- ministration was not funded. At this time, rail line proponents are re-assessing options to go forward on the Tier I EIS via public/private part- nership funding and/or to seek another federal grant option for the study. IPH will offer Hoosier train travelers nicer ac- commodations than they have been used to.
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ALL ABOARD
INDIANA The Official Newsletter of the Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance
June 2015
First, the easy part:
About the time you are reading this arti-
cle (early June) the new Hoosier State consist (the engine and cars to be
used) will be undergoing its final inspec-
tion by a veritable alphabet soup of state
and federal inspectors. The three car and
engine consist will be gone over carefully
by the FRA (Federal Rail Administration)
for equipment safety compliance, the
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) will
inspect the food service, ADA inspectors (Americans with Disabilities Act) will ensure
handicap compliance, and DOT inspectors and INDOT observers will also be involved.
This heightened level of oversight is in part due to the recent passenger fatalities on
the busy Northeast Corridor.
Once the static tests and inspections are successfully completed, the consist will be
cleared for a trial run on the Hoosier State route from Chicago to Indianapolis and
then return to the Iowa Pacific facility in Bensenville, Illinois. The date for this round
trip is tentatively set for June 10 but is subject to change. The trip will accommodate
only essential personnel and is not open for special guests or general passengers.
Both INDOT and Iowa Pacific Holdings remain confident that the new Hoosier State will be ready to begin operations on Wednesday, July 1 with southbound service
on train #850 from Chicago to Indianapolis. By all accounts the quality of the passen-
ger experience anticipated for the new consist will be a noticeable improvement over
the standard Heritage-era fleet of
passenger cars.
Now, the hard part:
While much has been accom-
plished over the past thirty-four
months to build awareness and
support for the continuation of
this two-state passenger service,
the next nineteen months will be
critical for the long-term (continued)
Hoosier State: Now Comes the Hard Part By Arvid Olson, Greater Lafayette Commerce
IN THIS ISSUE:
Page Two—Five Faith, Grace (College), and
Rail
Page Six College-Aged Train Advocates
Highlight Indy‘s Train Day
Page Seven Are You Ready for a
Commuter Line Between
Muncie and Indy?
Indiana Crossrails: Building a
Passion for Rail Transit
(continued through page 9)
Page Ten Use Amtrak Thruways Buses:
Summer Vacations on Amtrak
IPRA Joins Amtrak in Sympathy
for Crash Victims
Page Eleven Ft. Wayne‘s Baker Street
Station Site of IPRA April
Board Meeting
Page Twelve Lafayette Repairs Continue
NARP Annual Fall Conference
Page Thirteen For More Information...
Contributors
Website: www.indianahighspeedrail.org
Facebook: Hoosiers for Passenger Rail or Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance
Volume 2, Number 6
As We Go To Press:
The Tier I Environmental Impact Study for the
proposed Chicago to Columbus, Ohio, passenger
rail line as submitted to the Federal Railroad Ad-
ministration was not funded. At this time, rail
line proponents are re-assessing options to go
forward on the Tier I EIS via public/private part-
nership funding and/or to seek another federal
grant option for the study.
IPH will offer Hoosier train travelers nicer ac-commodations than they have been used to.
(―Now Comes the Hard Part‖ continued from page 1) viability
of the Hoosier State. Over the past three
years, there has been
considerable media
coverage devoted to
whether this train
would survive. Now, it is imperative for the focus to be
directed toward populating the train with an ever-
growing number of satisfied passengers.
Long-time rail advocates could note that until route speeds are increased along with a more acceptable level
of on-time performance, the train is still hamstrung from
succeeding. On-time performance during April 2015 for
the Hoosier State was 58.8%, with the last 12 months
averaging 71%. Many rail experts note that acceptable on
-time stats are above 90%. The reality is that this im-
provement will take a goodly amount of time, funds, and
a more enlightened relationship with the three parent
railroads that the Hoosier State currently travels over
(CSX, NS, and UP) to appreciably change.
The good news is that Iowa Pacific is quite aware of
the route condition and on-time challenges they face.
That is one reason that they have invested heavily in
developing a train set that is anticipated to be more
enjoyable and conducive for business and pleasure-
based passengers. Amenities like WiFi, attractive inte-
rior decoration, food and beverage service, and an en-
hanced first-class travel experience will help to alleviate
the reality of a slower-than-desired travel time to and
from the destination cities.
With Iowa Pacific investing in a marketing manager
and chef for the service, it is anticipated that the travel
experience will be something that is arguably fun and
enjoyable. The possibility of excursions and special
trains similar to those operated on home IPH tracks is
also intriguing.
That said, the ultimate litmus test that INDOT and our
state legislators will be looking for is a measured and
steady increase in ridership. Over the past four fiscal
years, the Hoosier State has hosted between 33,000
and 36,000 annual riders. By the beginning of the next
biennial legislative session in January 2017 it is para-
mount that we are able to talk about ridership in the
neighborhood of 43,500 annual passengers
(approximately a 25% increase). This would effectively
reduce the subsidy per rider which is the ultimate met-
ric that this train will be ‗graded‘ upon relative to its
renewal of financial support via the state budget.
The responsibility each passenger rail supporter reading
this article (thanks, by the way!) needs to assume is to
‗talk this train‘ up to your friends and family as well as
actively support the Hoosier State as a rail passenger.
Indiana‘s finally getting a better train; now it‘s up to us
to keep it and grow it.
On Monday March 10, 2014, I
drove the 40 miles from Fort
Wayne to Winona Lake on a
rare sunny day in an other-
wise grim winter to meet with
Dr. William Katip, President of
Grace College & Seminary.
Grace College had made a
commitment, along with
other public and private enti-
ties in and around Warsaw, to
support the Tier One Environmental Impact Study re-
quired to move forward with the revival of passenger
rail service from Chicago, IL to Columbus, OH through
Gary, Valparaiso, Plymouth, Warsaw, and Fort Wayne. I
wanted to find out more about the reasons for Grace
College's participation in this long-term regional eco-
nomic development initiative.
Each of these Indiana communities had pledged a
share of the necessary local funding. Heading up the
Warsaw community's "pledge drive" was Warsaw's
Mayor Joe Thallemer, a local optometrist in his first
term as Mayor. When Mayor Joe called on February 26
to let us know he had not only completed his own
community's fundraising goal, but had contacted the
other city partners in central and northwest Indiana to
secure their pledges, he was so enthusiastic that I told
him, "Mayor, you are the number one evangelist for
passenger rail."
But in reality, the idea of passenger rail in this north -
central Indiana community of almost 14,000 had been
taking root for some years. In 2011, (continued)
PAGE 2: ALL ABOARD INDIANA JUNE 2015
Faith, Grace (College), and Rail By Rich Davis, MPA, MCRP; Rich Davis & Associates, Inc.
Dr. Joe Thallemer, Mayor, Warsaw, Indiana
(―Faith, Grace (College) and Rail‖ continued from page 2) OrthoWorx, Inc.--
a not-for-profit organiza-
tion representing and
promoting the cluster of
orthopedics industries
located in and around
Warsaw, had commis-
sioned its own economic
impact study to estimate
the impact of a high speed rail connection to Chicago
and O'Hare Airport. This study, carried out by engi-
neering consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff, had esti-
mated significant benefits to the orthopedics industry
including 20-year travel time savings of $32 - $45 mil-
lion, with additional productivity benefits amounting to
$39 - $46 million. Other regional rail development
studies estimated overall employment impacts of 649 -
790 full time jobs, and a total economic impact on the
community of $133-161 million over 20 years.
Certainly for OrthoWorx, which states its primary mis-
sion as supporting and sustaining Warsaw as the
"Orthopedics Capital of the World," these benefits were
worth the community's support and investment. Not
quantified but still a key feature of the Parsons Brinck-
erhoff report were the benefits of utilizing a regional
rail connection to underpin the recruitment and reten-
tion of key professional talent. Warsaw's competitive-
ness as an industry cluster is impressive-- $11 billion of
total annual sales, representing 1/3 of the world's or-
thopedics sales volume; 13,000 direct and indirect jobs-
-but no one is more aware than OrthoWorx that in this
"flat world" of global high tech manufacturing, such
dominance cannot be taken for granted.
As I talked to Dr. Bill Katip in the small conference
room adjacent to his office in McClain Hall, named af-
ter the Seminary's first President, Alva McClain, I
learned that Grace College had also aligned itself with
the future of the orthopedics industry. Not only does
the College offer, in conjunction with Trine University, a
degree in biomedical engineering management, but Dr.
Katip's predecessor, Dr. Ronald Manahan, had also re-
cruited significant contributions from the local orthope-
dics companies to build the impressive Manahan Or-
thopedics Capital Center, one of the newest, best-
equipped sports and entertainment facilities among all
Indiana colleges.
The connection between Grace College and its roots
deep in the Protestant reformation is illustrated by a geo-
graphic link between Grace's students and the faith com-
munities in Ohio and Pennsylvania from which they come.
Geographic diversity is not unique to Grace College-- for
example, only 30% of Valparaiso University students
come from Indiana--but Grace College's grounding in the
Grace Brethren churches exerts a strong gravitational at-
traction eastward. This, as Dr. Katip explained to me as
we wrapped up our meeting, is one of the reasons he is
excited about the potential for the Chicago -Fort Wayne -
Columbus high speed rail line.
A further reason for Grace College's commitment to the
passenger rail corridor, said Dr. Katip, was the direct in-
volvement of Warsaw's Mayor Thallemer in promoting
community investment in the future of passenger rail. In
addition to his strong advocacy for the rail corridor pro-
ject in his own community, Mayor Thallemer has worked
with his fellow Mayors in Fort Wayne, New Haven, Ply-
mouth, Valparaiso and Gary to solidify community com-
mitments westward from Warsaw all the way to Illinois.
Dr. Katip cited both the college's and the Grace Brethren
churches' strong tradition of community participation as a
guiding principle in the College's decision to help ad-
vance the rail corridor project.
Regional Networks
The 141 colleges and universities situated in the 300-
mile-long Columbus to Chicago may be separated
geographically but they are often linked by various
networks--academic, professional, and sports networks
among them. I quizzed Dr. Katip about these various
connections especially where their geography encom-
passes the northern stretch of Indiana from Illinois to
Ohio. As a graduate of both Purdue University and
Michigan State University, where he earned his B.S. and
PhD degrees, respectively, Dr. Katip was (continued)
PAGE 3: ALL ABOARD INDIANA JUNE 2015
Dr. William Katip, President, Grace College & Seminary
(―Faith, Grace (College), and Rail‖ continued from page 3) very much aware of the importance of academic
networks like the Committee on Institutional Coopera-
tion (C.I.C), the academic counterpart of the Big Ten
athletic conference, which embraces all the Big Ten
universities, including Maryland, Rutgers, and founding
member University of Chicago. Dr. Katip was particu-
larly impressed with research showing that nearly
900,000 students in 141 institutions of higher educa-
tion were located within 25 miles of a railhead along
the Chicago to Columbus corridor.
Grace College's library, as one example, is linked to libraries
throughout the world by its membership in the Online Com-
puter Library Center, Inc. -- "a nonprofit, membership, com-
puter library service and research organization dedicated to
the public purposes of furthering access to the world‘s infor-
mation and reducing information costs." The OCLC, head-
quartered in Dublin, Ohio near the eastern terminus of the
proposed rail corridor, provides not only research, manage-
ment, and professional development support, but also works
to increase the availability of library resources to individual
library patrons and to reduce the rate-of-rise of library per-
unit costs -- all for the fundamental public purpose of fur-
thering ease of access to and use of the ever-expanding
body of worldwide scientific, literary and educational knowl-
edge and information.
The Crossroads League (National Association of Inter-
collegiate Athletics, Division II) represents a highly
competitive cluster of colleges centered on Indiana, in
a crescent curving northward from Indianapolis (Marian
University) through Huntington (Huntington University)
and Fort Wayne (University of Saint Francis) to the Mi-
chiana borderlands (Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana
and Bethel College in Mishawaka), and even into
Michigan (Spring Arbor University) and Ohio (Mount
Vernon Nazarene University). Five of the ten colleges
and universities in the Crossroads League would be
located within 25 miles of a railhead on the Chicago -
Fort Wayne - Columbus corridor. It was easy to imag-
ine teams and their supporters from northwest and
north central Indiana and from central Ohio traveling
conveniently and comfortably by high speed rail to an
all-conference
tournament
located in
Fort Wayne --
or in the new
OCC arena at
the Grace
College cam-
pus in Wi-
nona Lake.
Other networking opportunities are unique to the rela-
tionship Grace has cultivated with the orthopedics in-
dustry clustered in Warsaw. OrthoWorx, Inc. was cre-
ated in 2009 to represent and foster the industry group
that collectively employs, directly or indirectly, over
13,000 people and contributes over $3 billion annually
to the economy of Indiana. March 20, 2014 marked the
creation of the OrthoWorx University | Industry Advi-
sory Board intended to connect the technology and
talent needs of the orthopedic industry with the re-
sources and capabilities of Indiana institutions of
higher education. The Advisory Board includes not only
Grace College, one of OrthoWorx's early partners, but
also Indiana University; the University of Notre Dame;
Ivy Tech Community College; Manchester University
(located a few miles southeast of Warsaw); and Trine
University in Angola, Indiana. More recent joiners have
included Ball State (Muncie); Indiana University / Pur-
due University Fort Wayne (IPFW); and Purdue Univer-
sity (West Lafayette).
A study released in 2013, commissioned by the Central
Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) and conducted by
the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice, found that
Indiana does not produce enough high-skilled job op-
portunities for the number of students who graduate
from four-year colleges. As a result, the study con-
cluded that the lack of job opportunities (continued)
PAGE 4: ALL ABOARD INDIANA JUNE 2015
Campus of the University of Chicago. There are 141 institutions of higher education located in the Colum-bus - Chicago corridor, with over 896,000 students
Basketball at the Manahan Orthopaedics Capital Center