The Indiana Department of Transportation has ended contract negotiations with Corridor Capital LLC to provide passenger rail cars, marketing and other services for the Hoosier State line between Indianapolis and Chicago, said INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield.
Wingfield did not comment as to why negotiations were terminated.
But he said the state is looking at its options to continue the service after the Jan. 31 expiration date on INDOT’s contracts with Amtrak and the communities along the route.
“INDOT is requesting pricing from Amtrak to continue as operator after January 31, minus certain elements of the existing service that Amtrak is providing, such as rolling stock, onboard services and marketing,” Wingfield said.
Amtrak is working with the state, but the clock is ticking, spokesman Marc Magliari said.
“Amtrak submitted a contract renewal in April for the current service model and has offered to work with the state on other viable models used in other states,” he said.
“However, time is growing short to resolve many open questions for daily passenger rail service to continue from Feb. 1 and onward.”
The state, cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette along with Tippecanoe County and four other communities served by the 196-mile line have poured $2.7 million into the line since Oct. 1, 2013, to keep it operating after Congress eliminated funding for Amtrak routes shorter than 750 miles.
INDOT said its goal was to continue the service and find an independent contractor that could overcome constant delays, run trains at more convenient times, provide amenities such as Wi-Fi, attract more riders and operate the train more cost effectively than Amtrak.
In June, INDOT selected Chicago-based Corridor Capital as the most responsive of four proposals submitted to operate the route. Corridor Capital posted information on its website heralding the “reinvention of the Hoosier State.”
INDOT and Corridor Capital were silent on Oct. 1, the day the two parties expected to have an operating agreement in place.
Instead, Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman rode the line from Indianapolis to Chicago, and announced the company would provide free Wi-Fi, a business-class car and light snacks as a goodwill gesture during the last three months of the contract extension.
Boardman also predicted that Amtrak would still be operating the train because Corridor Capital had not sealed the deal with the state.
Arvid Olson, the Greater Lafayette Commerce member who has championed the economic benefits of keeping the train going, lamented the latest development more than four months after negotiations between INDOT and Corridor Capital began.
“It creates genuine pressure on INDOT and the stakeholder’s ability to improve the Hoosier State beginning on Feb. 1, 2015,” he said.
Without improvements during fiscal year 2013-2014, ridership on the four-day-a-week Hoosier State fell 8 percent and revenue dropped 10 percent on the Hoosier State, according to Amtrak.
If there is concern at the city level, elected leaders aren’t showing it.
“INDOT continues to evaluate all of its options to ensure the continuation of the Hoosier State and improve service,” Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said.
“The good news is that contrary to all the rumors, INDOT is very interested in passenger rail,” West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis said.
The mayors and Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tom Murtaugh have expressed concern about continuing to fund a service that has not been upgraded.
State Rep. Randy Truitt last month said he will introduce legislation that would take the financial burden off the communities and place it squarely with the state.
With this latest wrinkle, it remains to be seen if INDOT can find a rail service provider that has available passenger cars and get the legal details worked out with Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration by Feb. 1.
Sort of goes against krtraveler's claim on another thread that some private firms are chomping at the bit to compete with Amtrak. First real test of the concept seems to have fallen flat!
IIRC it was just a bit different, Corridor Capital claiming to have refurbished ex El Cap high levels and Ed's bid was flexible using ATK equipment or his with ATK folks or his troops manning things. Do I remember incorrectl?
I don't think it matters who trys to run the Hoosier State under current conditions of slow speeds. lousy track, and ridiculous routing into and out of Chicago. I rode the Monon years ago from Lafayette to Chicago and from what I remember it took about the same amount of time to get to Chicago as it does now. But that was when it took 3-4 hours to drive there on us52/US41 through small towns and suburbs. Now it's about a 2 hour drive (depending on traffic). If you don't want to park in Chicago, its about 90 minutes to Miller to catch the South Shore. What operator can fight those numbers?
I hate to agree with RKFarms but......The route is setup for failure. I rode the Flo from Bloomington in 1979 to Chicago and that routing was bad. I'm not sure that the current routing is much better. Is there a time as passenger rail supporters we should acknowledge a service isn't effective?
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