Amtrak could maintain operations of the passenger rail line from Indianapolis to Chicago after negotiations broke down this weekend between the Indiana Department of Transportation and prospective operator Corridor Capital.
Amtrak has a contract to provide daily service from Indianapolis to Chicago through January 31 of the upcoming year. INDOT was looking to Corridor Capital to take over operations, hoping the company could improve service on the line.
INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield would not say why the contract negotiations ended, and, in a statement, Corridor Capital officials say they learned through a news article INDOT ended negotiations.
"Corridor has complied with all applicable state and federal regulations, has met all the terms and specifications set forth by INDOT in its bid document and its award, and has met all state and federal deadlines governing the service startup," it said. "The reason for INDOT's suspension of the award remains a mystery."
The release also says Corridor Capital had personnel in Indiana last week working on future plans.
Wingfield say INDOT is now requesting pricing from Amtrak.
"Right now, we're looking at Amtrak to continue to be the operator after January 31 but we're continuing to look at opportunities to improve the service and performance," Wingfield says.
Marc Magliari, a spokesman for Amtrak, says the future of the Hoosier State Line remains uncertain as negotiations continue.
"Time is growing short to resolve the many open questions for daily passenger service to continue, but we remain the state's committed partner," Magliari says.
Last month, Amtrak began offering Wi-Fi and limited food service on the line in an effort to prove it could successfully improve the Hoosier State Line.
But a recent report also shows ridership on the Hoosier State Line dropped 8 percent since last year, while Amtrak ridership went up nationally.
The Hoosier State line has the fewest riders of any Amtrak line with less than 37,000 trips completed last year.
Indiana and the cities along the line agreed to fund it temporarily after Congressional funding expired. As a part of that agreement, INDOT asked companies last April to compete for the passenger rail service from Indianapolis to Chicago.
