The South Shore Line is expecting big ridership for Lollapalooza.
The railroad plans to run extra trains to handle the crowds. Extra eastbound trains will leave Millennium Station Thursday and Friday at 10:40 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday at 8:55 and 10:55 p.m. Those trains will pick up passengers at Van Buren three minutes later, and then make all stops from Hegewisch to Carroll Avenue. Additionally, two westbound trains will also run extras Saturday and Sunday for passengers heading to Chicago.
This comes as the South Shore is seeing passengers return after the COVID pandemic and Double Track construction. Kelly Wenger with the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) says weekend ridership, specifically, is approaching 2019 levels.
"We have Lollapalooza coming up this weekend, so that's always huge for our rail line," Wenger told the NICTD board Monday. "It's going to be exciting to see how those numbers continue to climb."
The South Shore also saw more passengers for the Chicago Pride Parade and NASCAR Street Race, compared to last year.
Still, weekday peak ridership has been slower to rebound, as employers shift to more flexible work schedules.
