Hoosier State’s last hurrah
Indiana and Amtrak’s failure to invest in improvements doomed the service
IN THE END, it didn’t matter to
state lawmakers that central
Indiana communities, fighting
to preserve daily train service,
have for years contributed more
than $350,0000 of operating
support to the Hoosier State.
The train made its last runs June
30 after Republican Gov. Eric
Holcomb declined to include a
$3-million annual grant in his
$33-billion, two-year state bud-
get [see “Hoosier State Threat-
ened — Again,” “Passenger,”
April 2019]. This leaves only the
triweekly Cardinal to serve the
Chicago-Indianapolis route.
Amtrak immediately added
more direct Thruway bus op-
tions between Indianapolis,
Lafayette, and Chicago. Those
bypass Crawfordsville, Rensse-
laer, and Dyer, Ind., now
served only by the Cardinal on
Monday northbound, Tuesday
southbound, and Thursdays
and Saturdays in both direc-
tions. There are no trains be-
tween Chicago and Indianapo-
lis on Fridays and Sundays, the
busiest travel days on most U.S.
rail corridors. Hoosier State
patronage was no exception,
with heavy boardings from
Purdue University and other
college students. Limited-
capacity buses can’t fill the
void, so Cardinal ridership will
likely diminish as well.
“For central and southern
Indiana, there needs to be a
paradigm shift in thinking at
the state level,” Indiana Rail
Passenger Alliance newsletter
editor Tod Bassler tells Trains
aboard the last northbound
run. “The voice of young people
will be extremely important.”
It’s tempting to heap blame
for the Hoosier State’s demise
entirely on Indiana politicians’
rejection of mobility needs of
citizens who don’t drive, and
their insistence that a passenger
train’s public benefit can only be
measured in ticket sales. The
state’s decision to subsidize $
for every round-trip passenger
on Delta Airlines’ new India-
napolis-Paris nonstop bothers
some of Indiana’s “fly-over
country” residents.
But the main culprit is the
Passenger Rail Investment and
Improvement Act framework,
passed in 2008, which permits
involved parties to kill trains or
weaken their viability with inac-
tion. The law stipulates that
states must provide operating
support to all trains that operate
under 750 miles. Amtrak could
have argued for an exception
for the Hoosier State that wouldhave let Indiana off the hook,
because of the train’s unique
tandem operation with the Car-
dinal and ability to ferry equip-
ment for overhauls at its Beech
Grove shop complex. Instead, it
used its ability to self-determine
costs to kill the state’s explora-
tion of enhanced service with
contract operator Iowa Pacific,
which couldn’t turn a profit
after paying those costs.
It will be up to lawmakers to
address the weaknesses ex-
posed by the Hoosier State’s
cancellation when they renego-
tiate Amtrak’s authorization in- — Bob Johnston
TrainsMag.com 9The presence of private car Frank Thomson allowed the last Chicago
arrival to go out with a Hoosier State drumhead. Bruce StahlSpectators and passengers
greet the last northbound
Hoosier State at Crawfordsville,
Ind., on June 30, 2019. Bob Johnston