NICTD - West Lake Line (Under Construction)The West Lake Line is expected to be complete by 2025. The line will connect to the South Shore Line at CP 69.2 just west of a new Hammond Gateway station. The line will physically curve to the south just east of the new Hammond Gateway station. After the curve railroad "Eastboound" is physically southbound and railroad "Westbound" is physically northbound. Mile markers are referred to as "WL" and the mile number, counting down from CP 69.2.Train OperationThe proposed plan is to have five peak trains to Chicago and one reverse commute train to Munster. The afternoon peak will have five trains from Chicago and one reverse commute train from Munster. Off-peak shuttle trains will run four times each way during midday and twice each way at night.At the north end of the West Lake Line peak trains will continue westbound to Chicago or eastbound to Munster without stopping at Hammond Gateway. Off-peak trains will terminate at Hammond Gateway and passengers will be able to transfer to South Shore Line trains to continue their trip to Chicago. Eastboound off-peak trains to Munster will run after the arrival of a South Shore Line train.  At the south end of the West Lake Line trains will terminate at the Munster / Dyer Main St Station and then return north (westbound) toward Hammond Gateway. As trains enter the station they will leave CTC (Centralized Traffic Control). The westbound signal at CP 61.5 will give trains permission to move toward Hammond Gateway or into the siding at Munster (as needed). All West Lake trains enter and leave service at Munster / Dyer Main St. Trains shown in siding are intended to illustrate the size of the siding. 
The Amtrak Cardinal service stops in Dyer three days per week in each direction. The Amtrak station is just south of the Munster / Dyer Main St station. Amtrak runs on the CSX railroad tracks next to the West Lake Line. There is no connection between the West Lake Line and the CSX line at any point. The only railroad West Lake connects to is the NICTD South Shore Line. Line MapBelow is the complete line map for the West Lake Line. The line map is intended to show the main line track as a straight line. Curves are not shown. The chart is close to scale along the length of the line but not vertically. Signals are shown at their location but are not to scale. Delay In BlockStopping in CTC territory triggers the "Delay In Block" rule. After stopping trains must not exceed "Restricted Speed" (defined as proceeding able to stop at half of sight distance at no greater than 20 MPH) until a signal allowing a faster speed is clearly seen and there is no obstruction between the train and that signal. Delay In Block applies to trains stopping at the West Lake Hammond Gateway station.At Hammond Gateway the next westbound signal is 237 ft from the West Lake platform. The next eastbound signal is 2310 ft from the platform around a curve. The eastbound signal should be able to be seen after the train has traveled 879 ft clearing the curve (the signal is 1431 ft away on straight track from that point). Proceeding at Restricted Speed adds a delay to operating the train but the delay should be minor. To avoid the Delay in Block an intermediate signal could be added east of the West Lake platform at Hammond Gateway. Due to the minimal impact of the Delay In Block this signal is not required. (Only four trains per day are affected by the rule at Hammond Gateway.) At South Hammond the next westbound signal is an intermediate. The Delay In Block rules allow passenger trains to continue in the same direction at regular speed if the next signal is an intermediate. South Hammond is immediately north of CP 65.3 and the eastbound signal can be seen from a train at the platform. The Munster Ridge Rd station is 3355 ft south of the next westbound signal at CP 64.9 on straight track. Delay in block will apply to westbound trains. The next eastbound signal is an intermediate. Meet PointsThe proposed schedule does not use the sidings on the West Lake Line. Most eastboound deadhead trains are timed to leave the Hammond layover yard for Munster after the conficting westbound train passes. Four train sets are used for peak trains between Chicago and Munster. A fifth train set is used for the shuttle between Hammond Gateway and Munster.
The first four trains from Munster arrive without passengers from the Hammond layover yard then head west to Chicago. The first train with passengers to Munster each day is from Chicago. The train set reverses direction and becomes the final morning peak train to Chicago. The mid-day shuttle runs without passengers to Munster then makes four round trips. The afternoon peak reverses the pattern with the first afternoon train arriving at Munster returning to Chicago. The next four arrivals terminate in Munster and return to the Hammond layover yard without passengers. The shuttle train makes two more round trips in the evening. The sidings can be used if trains are off schedule. The chart above shows West Lake passenger trains in red and moves without passengers in gray. The gray and charcoal marks at the top of the chart represent South Shore Line trains. The "Record of Decision" for the West Lake Line includes two potential schedules, one for integrating the ten peak trains with the Metra Electric schedule and a second for operating trains on the West Lake tracks. The schedules are not final and were not coordinated. The combined schedules are shown below. As noted, peak West Lake trains do not stop at Hammond Gateway (times shown are an estimate for when the train will pass). Off-peak trains will be timed to coordinate with South Shore Line schedules. Deadhead trains are not listed. 
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