Metra commuters have been faced with delays and cancellations all week because of the extreme cold. Schedules are getting back on track, but Friday morning, two trains were cancelled.
Metra is trying to get back on track after a week of problems for commuters. Metra workers spent another day cleaning ice and snow from manual rail switches.
The more than 3,000 switches caused a slew of problems all week. Metra officials say the frigid temperatures earlier this week made it hard for heated automatic switches to thaw the ice and snow that became embedded.
Dozens of trains were late leaving commuters waiting for up to an hour in the bitter cold temperatures, frustrating many daily riders.
"Monday it was three hours. I come from Itasca, I caught my normal train waited 45 minutes got to Union Station turned around and came home to get my car," said Marc Brzezicki, Metra commuter.
And the problems continued Friday morning, there were cancelations and delays on the UP-Northwest Line, UP-West and BNSF.
Train No. 624 on the Union Pacific Northwest Line, which was scheduled to depart from Crystal Lake at 7 a.m. for the Ogilvie Transportation Center, will not operate due to "ongoing mechanical problems," according to Metra's website.
Trains No. 620 and No. 630 -- which depart Crystal Lake at 6:50 a.m. and 7:35 a.m., respectively -- will accommodate passengers who originally planned to ride No. 624, according to Metra.
Additionally, Train No. 13 on the Union Pacific West Line, which serves to west and far west suburbs, was originally scheduled to depart Ogilvie at 5:53 a.m. from Elburn, but is delayed and later canceled due to mechanical problems, according to Metra.
