In partnership with both the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, the Midwest Rail Rangers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides on-board educational programs on the South Shore Line through Illinois and Indiana.

Midwest Rail Rangers Interpretive Guides narrate the passing scenery to the public — just buy a ticket at a station or ticket kiosk, grab a seat in our designated car (program takes place in one designated car on the train), and participate at no extra cost! No reservations are ever needed for our South Shore Line programs, plus you can hop-on and off at any stop. Learn about all of the interesting scenery as we pass through, including the South Side of Chicago, the historic steel-making region of Northwest Indiana, the Indiana Dunes State Park and National Park, plus the “bread basket” farming areas of St. Joseph County.

Eastbound programs take place aboard the train that departs Chicago-Millennium at 8:40AM CT. Westbound programs take place aboard the train that departs South Bend at 1:05PM ET. For a complete schedule of intermediate stops that you can get on/off the train, a map, plus other FAQ’s on the Midwest Rail Rangers’ South Shore program, visit the Rail Rangers website at: http://www.DunesTrain.com/

Upcoming program dates include the following: 

Saturday, Sept 7

Saturday, Sept 21

Sunday, Sept 22

Sunday, Oct 6

Sunday, Oct 27

Sunday, Nov 17

Saturday, Nov 30

Sunday, Dec 8

Saturday, Dec 14

Sunday, Dec 15

Saturday, Dec 28