Mariana Ramos
On Tuesday night, an accident occurred at Union Station, a partial trail derailment on the Metra is causing several Wednesday commuting delays on various Metra lines.
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According to WGN9, it was an inbound SouthWest Service train that was arriving at Union Station around 10:50 p.m. Then it was the third, fourth and fifth cars that were derailed.
Metra spokesman Michael Gillis made an announcement Wednesday morning detailing the accident. As for the other five cars of the eight-car train, they and the locomotive remained on the tracks, and the derailed cars remained upright.
The statement noted that only three passengers were on the train at the time and they suffered no injuries.
Maintenance crews were out early Wednesday morning attempting to remove the train from the tracks so the morning commute would continue without delays but it took them longer than expected. The crews will also have to repair the multiple switches that were damaged during the derailment, these switches control tracks on the station’s South Concourse platforms.
Unfortunately, Amtrak customers also need to plan to expect delays of 15-30 minutes for arrivals and departures. However, according to a statement by the agency, the servicing trains in the station’s North Concourse, including Amtrak Hiawatha Service trains, should be “largely unaffected.”
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Mr. Gillis also noted that despite rapid response from the maintenance crew, Wednesday’s evening rush will also likely be affected by delays related to the derailment. Metra promised to update with ample time regarding the progress of repairs before the evening rush begins.
