Trains will travel through stations during boarding

SPRINGFIELD — A policy preventing trains from rolling past a station while another train is boarding passengers will end Tuesday at some stations on Metra’s Union Pacific West Line.

Union Pacific representatives say recent improvements made to eight stations on the West Line will keep passengers out of the way of passing trains — including freight trains — while improving train timeliness.

Union Pacific previously banned trains from traveling through Metra stations while passengers were boarding, as a matter of public safety.

To offset the dangers of train traffic while pedestrians board, the eight stations — including Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Winfield and Geneva — have added fences, gates, signs and walkways designed to keep riders away from the tracks while trains are passing through.

Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said the upgrades include flashing signs along with voice cues that will repeatedly warn passengers of oncoming trains.

“Maybe you see a train at the station, but you shouldn’t assume that’s the only train that is going to come through,” Gillis said.

“I think the overall results are going to be not only enhanced safety for pedestrians, but also an improved on-time performance for Metra,” said Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis.

Safety improvements are also scheduled for the Lombard and Wheaton stations, and trains will not be allowed to pass through while passengers board until the upgrades are finished.

The $132 million overhaul is just the beginning for Union Pacific’s planned upgrades. Davis said the company is looking to add more switches to existing tracks to improve the flow of traffic for the roughly 120 daily train trips on the West Line.

Davis said similar changes could be made on the other Union Pacific lines.

“We really haven’t studied beyond this line ... but once (the safety systems are) turned on we’ll be able to start analyzing and determining if this type of system could be expanded to other lines,” he said.