Metra, Amtrak delays expected at Union Station Wednesday evening
CHICAGO -- Metra and Amtrak passengers should expect delays at Union Station during the Wednesday evening commute after a partial train derailment.
Crews were still working to remove the train from the tracks Wednesday, Gillis said. Repairs will also have to be made to multiple switches damaged in the derailment, which control tracks on the station's South Concourse platforms.
An inbound SouthWest Service train was arriving at Union Station about 10:50 p.m. Tuesday when the third, fourth and fifth cars derailed, according to a statement from Metra spokesman Michael Gillis. The other five cars of the eight-car train and the locomotive remained on the tracks, and the derailed cars remained upright.
Three passengers were on the train at the time and no injuries were reported, the statement said.
Passengers on Metra's BNSF and SouthWest lines should expect delays of up to 30 minutes, Metra said in a statement. Delays of up to 15 minutes were expected on the Heritage Corridor line.
Delays are possible during Thursday morning's rush hour, depending on how much can be repaired overnight, Gillis said. Riders should check back between 4 and 5 a.m. to see if their trains are delayed.
Metra said it will implement its plan to limit overcrowding on the station's south concourse Wednesday evening, according to the statement.
Amtrak customers should also expect delays of between 30 and 45 minutes for arrivals and departures because of temporarily reduced capacity in the station's south concourse, the transit agency said in a statement.
Amtrak and Metra customers should check information displays and listen carefully to boarding announcements because some trains could be arriving and departing from tracks that differ from normal.
Service in the station's north concourse, including Amtrak Hiawatha Service trains, will be "largely unaffected."
Commuters can check metrarail.com for updates.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2017.)
