as well as low projected ridership would have made it ineligible for federal funding and opted to study the Gary-to-Valparaiso route instead. The Gary-to-Valparaiso route would utilize the partially abandoned former Pennsylvania Railroad line. NICTD officials contend the shorter length of a Gary-to-Valparaiso run and the chance to use existing tracks there may make it a lower-cost alternative to the Munster-to-Valparaiso route. Extension to Elkhart In the 1980s and 1990s, there was some discussion about the possibility of extending the line from South Bend east to Elkhart County, Indiana. In 1988, Elkhart, Indiana mayor James Perron pushed for the government to look into making long-term plans for an extension into his city. It is analogous of Metra Electric Line extension to Kankakee. Proposed new stations There are proposals to replace the South Bend terminus with a new station. There is a proposal to reestablish a station in New Carlisle. West Lake Corridor NICTD planned to apply for federal funding for a preliminary engineering study and environmental survey of a Hammond-to-Lowell leg in 2009. , that leg had a projected price tag of $551 million. , the cost has increased to $665 million. NICTD was awarded funding in the spring of 2020 and the line broke ground in October 2020. The project is estimated to open to revenue service in 2025. The new line will run through Munster to Dyer, with a possible later extension to St. John, and trains will run as shuttles between Hammond and Dyer during off-peak hours. The alignment of the new branch leaves the old CSS&SB main immediately before the current Hammond station. Hence, the NICTD has decided to build a new station in Hammond to serve both branches. Station listing The line operates over the tracks of the Metra Electric Line from Millennium Station to Kensington-115th Street. Metra owns the track in this territory. Per a long-standing non-compete clause with Metra, outbound South Shore Line trains to Indiana only stop at Metra Electric stations to receive passengers; inbound trains to Millennium Station only stop at Metra Electric stations to discharge passengers. South Shore Line trains make the following station stops: See also Proposed new South Shore Line station in South Bend Notes References External links Official site Chicago, Illinois / South Bend, Indiana: The South Shore Line Hammond, Indiana News Briefs November 2003 Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District – Our History Electric railways in Illinois