(Washington D.C) - It looks like the long-awaited double track will be laid to increase travel times to and from Chicago.

Federal dollars have been approved by the Federal Transit Administration. Those dollars will go toward the final phase of the engineering portion of the project. The plan calls for a second track for the South Shore commuter line will be added from Michigan City to Gary to speed up one-way travel by up to 30 minutes or more.  

Five train stations will also be upgraded. More than 13 hundred new parking spaces are included in the plans. State and local governments are also kicking in dollars for a project now estimated at more than 400 million dollars, about twice the original estimate.