The train, carrying 197 passengers and nine crew members, was arriving at Union Station when three of the 11 cars jumped the tracks in the 1400-block of South Lumber Street at an Amtrak Rail Yard. No injuries were reported.
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"The car we were on just started to (move) back and forth. Then it got worse and we pretty much ended up just leaning over," said passenger Janelle Highland, a University of Chicago student who was traveling on Amtrak's Lake Shore limited train from New York to Chicago.
All of the passengers were moved to the unaffected cars at the front and the derailed cars were unbuckled and the train then pulled into Union Station.
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"There was not a whole lot of jostling from what we've been told. We didn't have one complaint from the people on board," said Chief Brian Helmold, of the Chicago Fire Department. "Nobody had to be evacuated. Just uncoupled the cars, pulled the cars back into the station."
Amtrak said it would have normal afternoon service and Metra said its service is not being impacted.
An Amtrak spokesman said the train was moving at a slow speed at the time of the derailment and the cause is under investigation.