This week Mike Noland, President and GM of the South Shore Line https://mysouthshoreline.com/, joins Paul to talk about commuter rail in the Midwest. The South Shore Line connects Northwestern Indiana with Chicago. This busy corridor is used by commuters and casual riders heading into the Windy City for work or fun. Mike talks about the South Shore Line, how he's adapting to changing ridership, and his double-tracking project to expand capacity and flexibility on the line.

Commuter rail is in a tremendous state of flux right now. Commuters are coming back slowly, but with very different travel habits than they did three years ago. Choice riders, or people who use the train to quickly get between cities, often travel at "off peak" times like midday, evenings, and weekends. Mike talks about what changes and amenities are needed to get more people out of their cars and onto trains.

Mike concludes with a discussion about high-speed rail and what's needed to make these a reality in the U.S.

We wrap this episode with Mike's Minute with regular contributor Mike Bismeyer reminding us of the value and learning we get from each other as we head into the fall conference season.

Next week on the show, we're joined by Diana Kotler, CEO of the Anaheim Transit Network, and how her business-supported transit system gets tourists and the people of Anaheim around the Happiest Place on Earth (West Coast edition).

If you have a question or comment, email us at [email protected].

Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo. At Modaxo, we're passionate about moving the world's people, and at Transit Unplugged, we're passionate about telling those stories. https://www.modaxo.com/

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(00:00) Mike Noland, President of the South Shore Line

(27:57) Mike's Minute with Mike Bismeyer

(29:23) Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged Diana Kotler, Anaheim Transit Network

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