A faster schedule is in effect starting this month for Amtrak Hoosier State train passengers, as Amtrak and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) also announce continued growth in local ridership and revenue for the service between Indianapolis and Chicago.
According to the Amtrak Passenger Service Notice, the southbound Hoosier State (Train 850) is scheduled to depart earlier from its intermediate stops and arrive 11 minutes earlier into Indianapolis. The northbound Hoosier State (Train 851) is scheduled to arrive five minutes earlier in Chicago.
The new schedule for the Hoosier State, which operates four days weekly, is also reflected in the schedule for the Amtrak Cardinal (Trains 50 & 51). Together, the Hoosier State and the Cardinal provide daily service between Indianapolis and Chicago with intermediate stops at Dyer, Rensselaer, Lafayette and Crawfordsville. Previously-booked customers were notified of the changes.
The Hoosier State train transitioned to modern Amtrak railcars and locomotives on March 1. Both ridership and revenue rose in March and April, with ridership up double-digits in both months and revenue also up versus year ago levels.
On-time performance is nearly 85 percent since October, including more than 90 percent in March.
The Hoosier State is operated by Amtrak under contract with INDOT with a unique partnership of state and local funding. The Indiana General Assembly included $3 million per year for the Hoosier State in the two-year state budget, which was signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb and begins July 1.
Amtrak employs more than 700 Indiana residents, with more than 500 Hoosiers at the railroad’s principal heavy maintenance facility in Beech Grove. The Hoosier State train is often used to bring railcars and locomotives to the plant southeast of Indianapolis and to take them to Chicago.