Commuter train/bus into Chicago

[MSURed]

Originally Posted by stony1332

They have racks above that can fit a roll on easy. From Dune Park the ride is about an hour.

Originally Posted by tuff bob

yeah, well there's two, the Carroll Ave is the further stop if you're coming from Chicago, but theres free parking and its very convenient to get to from I-94. The other stop I think is right downtown. It's a stellar bargain, compared to either Amtrak or driving in the city if traffic isn't your thing (I'm used to traffic though)

Alright, both of these sound good, how long is the ride from Carroll Ave?

[tuff bob]

Originally Posted by MSURed

Alright, both of these sound good, how long is the ride from Carroll Ave?

its about 1h 40 mins:

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District

$7.85 per person each way:

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District

edit: $6.50 for weekend and holidays

[ninowesco]

I took the train to Dearborn last week and it took about 4.5 hours

if you can drive it significantly faster I'd like to hear about your car or route

and at $67 each way it's not much more expensive than driving

also, I flew back and I would have preferred to take the train if it ran later

[MSURed]

Originally Posted by ninowesco

I took the train to Dearborn last week and it took about 4.5 hours

if you can drive it significantly faster I'd like to hear about your car or route

and at $67 each way it's not much more expensive than driving

also, I flew back and I would have preferred to take the train if it ran later

I was looking from Royal Oak, I could walk to the station from my house. But just checked out Dearborn, they're sold out on Sunday (same with Royal Oak).

[tuff bob]

Originally Posted by MSURed

I was looking from Royal Oak, I could walk to the station from my house. But just checked out Dearborn, they're sold out on Sunday (same with Royal Oak).

Amtrak sucks too, they have to yield to any slow freight trains, and there's a common joke around these parts that it takes 3 days to get a freight train thru chicago. I took it once from Chicago to St Joesph and the train was 90 mins late on a 90 min trip and it was 4x the price of the South Shore to Michigan City. Big Thumbs Down.

The South Shore largely runs on its own tracks in Indiana and shares with Metra (tracks dedicated to frequent commuter service) in Chicago, so its more predictable.

[MSURed]

Bump for the day, Michigan City or Dune Park, or somewhere else?

Thanks for all the suggestions here

[Chitown_Badger]

Originally Posted by MSURed

Trust me, I would love to avoid the Taste of Chicago. Kinda have to go to Chicago though, throwing my friend's shower and bachelorette And the friend I'm staying with is just north of the park with the festival

So where should Bruco and I meet up with you all? Figured you'd need someone to, you know, show you around.

[rosellja]

Originally Posted by MSURed

Bump for the day, Michigan City or Dune Park, or somewhere else?

Thanks for all the suggestions here

a friend of mine that is in law school in chicago always takes the south shore to michigan city and then has someone pick her up from there. my fiance is doing the same thing when she goes there for her bachelorette party in a couple weeks.

[MSURed]

megabus added another bus

Bought my ticket there, now, while I'm bugging people for advice, which would you recommend for the way back, Greyhound or Amtrak? megabus only added an 8:30 a.m. trip for Sunday morning, which isn't happening

Greyhound - half hour longer trip, $38
Amtrak - $67

I'll pay more for Amtrak if folks say it's better.

[OTSparty]

I'm planning on going to Chicago from the 4th through Sunday and was thinking of taking the commuter train from Michigan City into the city. Was just wondering which station, 11th Ave. or Carroll Ave, would be safer to leave my car overnight for those two nights? Does anyone know if they have security at the parking lots?

[worm]

Originally Posted by MSURed

Does anyone have any info on these? I'm heading there Thurs-Sun/Mon, megabus is sold out already, and I'd rather not drive because of Taste of Chicago (which my friends live near), and my usual method of free parking isn't available. Amtrak takes like 2-3 hours more than driving, so I'm thinking of just driving to Gary or any other location an hour or so outside of Chicago and taking a commuter bus of train the rest of the way. Anyone ever do this?


This is the one I found so far, leaves Gary and goes to Millenium Station.
Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District

Any better ones? Any help is much appreciated.

the train rules...watch out for ninja gaiden. i can elaborate via pm if you'd like

[MSURed]

Originally Posted by worm

the train rules...watch out for ninja gaiden. i can elaborate via pm if you'd like

already took the trip, although I have to go back in a couple weekends anyway. I tried to buy an Amtrak ticket but it sold out between when I pulled it up and when I tried to buy. I was stuck with Greyhound, which was easily the worst travel experience of my life. Employees screaming at everyone at the station, one woman, who was in charge of my line, yelling to no one in particular: "If you scrump with me, you ARE NOT going to Detroit today!"

[worm]

Originally Posted by MSURed

already took the trip, although I have to go back in a couple weekends anyway. I tried to buy an Amtrak ticket but it sold out between when I pulled it up and when I tried to buy. I was stuck with Greyhound, which was easily the worst travel experience of my life. Employees screaming at everyone at the station, one woman, who was in charge of my line, yelling to no one in particular: "If you scrump with me, you ARE NOT going to Detroit today!"

i see you've met the greyhound bus version of ninja gaiden

[Spartanjd01]

I'm sorry I didn't see this thread last week. For my brother's bachelor party last summer, we drove to Michigan City and then took the commuter train into chicago. Excellant we to start the day with some cocktails in the car. Would have loved to run in to your group, but we got a group of moms/20-yr old daughters going to Wicked. That worked too.

[Fatwa Dakkash]

Originally Posted by MSURed

already took the trip, although I have to go back in a couple weekends anyway. I tried to buy an Amtrak ticket but it sold out between when I pulled it up and when I tried to buy. I was stuck with Greyhound, which was easily the worst travel experience of my life. Employees screaming at everyone at the station, one woman, who was in charge of my line, yelling to no one in particular: "If you scrump with me, you ARE NOT going to Detroit today!"

Well, if it's any consolation, if Amtrak's sold out, that would be almost as much of a madhouse.

I recall buying an Amtrak ticket to come back to Lansing the Friday before Christmas last year. Well, as it turned out, there was a train derailment on the main line that the Amtrak trains take, so after about a 90 minute delay beyond the departure time, they boarded everybody on four charter busses they rounded up at the last minute and shipped everybody out to Michigan City, where we all waited around for another 30-40 minutes to board the spare-parts-and-everything-else-last-resort Amtrak train they dragged out of the archives, and then finally we were on our way.


Well, except for when boarding the final leg of the trip, the Indian Trails bus from Battle Creek to East Lansing, it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overbooked. So, basically, there were Amtrak riders standing the whole way from BC to EL. That would have SUCKED. I was lucky and got one of the last seats.