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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Ogden Dunes (NICTD)

Portage/Ogden Dunes is a station in Porter County, Indiana serving the municipalities of Portage, Indiana and Ogden Dunes, Indiana. It is used by South Shore Line trains. Ogden Dunes is a semi-gated community with one major access road off of U.S. Highway 12, and the station is located adjacent to where this road accesses the community. The station also serves a Marina Shores subdivision in Portage. Portage/Ogden Dunes station is close to the Inland Marsh and West Beach units of the Indiana Dunes National Park.

Station layout

The station has a northern low-level platform and a southern high-level platform with most trains in both directions boarding on the high-level platform. Three small passenger shelters are positioned at the beginning, middle and end of the low-level platform. The low-level platform is accessible thanks to a ramp structure located at the west end of the platform, designed to sync up to the first car of the train.

History

Ogden Dunes was established as a flag stop along the line in the 1920s. The original stop was located about 100 feet (30 m) west of the modern stop and featured a waiting shelter, a platform, and single row or parking accessed immediately off of Dunes Highway to the south of the single-track railway.

The 1998-built low-level platform and waiting shelter, seen in 2016

Portage/Ogden Dunes was built in 1998–1999 to replace the original stop. The new station removed this southern platform and parking area, and instead constructed a new platform and double-row of angled parking north of the single-track. The project also included construction a new track to the north of the existing single-track east and west of the station, but within the station area a new track was built to the south of the existing single-track. This new southern track was then connected at either end of the station with the old single-track to become Track 1, and the new northern track outside the station area was connected to the old single-track within the station area to become Track 2.

Renovation

As part of a larger project to double-track the South Shore Line, Portage/Ogden Dunes saw a renovation from 2021 to 2024. Since the station was already double-tracked, it did not see a new track. However, a new high-level platform was built adjacent to the southern (eastbound) track, with a gauntlet track to allow freight trains to pass. The existing platform adjacent to the northern (westbound) track remained unchanged and was already accessible to passengers with disabilities due to having a ramp structure. The renovation also added a new parking lot with 354 spaces across Dunes Highway to the south of the station and a signalized pedestrian crossing of the Dune Highway to connect the station to this lot.

References

  1. ^ "2020 State of the System Report" (PDF). Metra. November 2020. p. SSL-4.
  2. ^ "The Harbor at Marina Shores". www.marinashoresindiana.com/. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (NICTD), Portage / Ogden Dune Station, Station Photo Gallery". SouthShore.railfan.net. Railfan.net. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  4. ^ Ogorek 2012, p. 55.
  5. ^ "Portage/Ogden Dunes Campus Design". Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. April 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.

Bibliography