New Carlisle station (South Shore Line)

New Carlisle
General information
Location	Arch Street and Zigler Street, New Carlisle, Indiana 46552
Coordinates	41°42′30″N 86°30′29″W
Owned by	NICTD
Platforms	1 island platform, 1 side platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Fare zone	10
History
Opened	c. 1908
Closed	July 5, 1994
Electrified	1,500 V DC
Services
Preceding station NICTD Following station Hudson Lake toward Millennium Station South Shore Line South Bend Airport Terminus South Bend Closed 1992 Terminus Preceding station Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad Following station Hudson Lake toward Randolph Street South Shore Line Lydick toward South Bend
Location

New Carlisle was a South Shore Line flag stop located at the corner of Arch and Zigler Streets in New Carlisle, Indiana. The station opened c. 1908 and was built by the Chicago, South Bend and Northern Indiana Railway whose line was immediately north of the South Shore Line. Both lines used the station until the Northern Indiana Railway abandoned its South Bend–Michigan City line leaving the South Shore as the sole occupant. The station remained in service on the South Shore Line until July 5, 1994, when it was closed as part of an NICTD service revision which also saw the closure of Ambridge, Kemil Road, Willard Avenue, LaLumiere, and Rolling Prairie.

Future

In 2018, a study was commissioned by the St. Joseph County Redevelopment Commission to look at the possibility of constructing a new station in New Carlisle. The study was conducted by the South Bend engineering firm Antero Group. The study's $100,000 cost was shared by St. Joseph County and NICTD. At the time the study was commissioned, two possible locations were being considered, one on the eastern edge of New Carlisle's "downtown", and another in Olive Township to the east of town.

By January 2019, St. Joseph County began eying land occupied by a mobile home park as a potential station location. The land is located on Michigan Street in the eastern side of New Carlisle, near the city's American Legion post and on the northern side of the South Shore Line tracks. A 2–1 vote by the St. Joseph County Board of approved $8,300 in contracts for the two parcels occupied by the mobile home park to be appraised by firms. By January 2020, it was announced that St. Joseph County was purchasing the 2.67 acre pair of parcels occupied by the now-vacant mobile home park for more than $400,000, with the stated prospect of locating a future South Shore Line station there. By July 2020, the county began leveling the structures on the site. There is a possibility, however, that the land might be used for a purpose other than housing a South Shore Line station.

A station in New Carlisle would likely supplant the existing Hudson Lake station.

The plans to build a station in New Carlisle are related to a proposed industrial complex that would be situated to the east of New Carlisle, and which has attracted controversy. The plans for a new station are also intended to attract businesses to the area.

The representative of the NICTD board stated in July 2020 that a new station in New Carlisle could take five or more years to materialize, if ultimately pursued at all.

In 2024, NICTD president Michael Noland shared that construction of a station in the area was again being examined. He shared that a study years earlier had concluded at the time that a new station would not attract sufficient ridership, but that in light of new factories and data centers being built in New Carlisle (expected to employ many who will commute from out-of-town), a new station was once again being explored. However, he opined that the most likely site for a new station would be near the existing Hudson Lake flag stop, rather than in New Carlisle itself. Noland expected two years of studies and preliminary work would be required before construction could begin.