The station is along the former Pennsylvania Railroad Fort Wayne Line, now owned by Norfolk Southern Railway.

North of the station lies the former Baltimore and Ohio (now CSX) and Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad (now Canadian National) tracks.

[1]: 215 Indiana Representative Adam Benjamin Jr., chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, induced Amtrak to add a suburban station southeast of Chicago.

Amtrak began reducing service to the station in the early 2000s because of low ridership and Norfolk Southern's requests due to the operational issues.

[1]: 257  This left only two daily Wolverine round trips (the former Lake Cities and Twilight Limited, renamed on April 26, 2004) as the only service at Hammond–Whiting.

[1]: 201, 257  In 2011, Amtrak considered stopping the Lake Shore Limited at the station; however, it was rejected due to operational difficulties and low projected ridership.