Metra eases crossing concerns in Winfield

A change in the way Metra picks up and drops off passengers at Winfield's train station has motorists spending less time waiting in front of crossing gates.

Thanks to a deal between Metra and the village, Chicago-bound commuter trains now come to a halt beyond the railroad crossing at Winfield Road while making stops at the station. The new policy, which took effect late last week, doesn't apply to commuter trains traveling west.

On Thursday, village officials said they estimate the waiting time for cars and trucks at the crossing has been reduced by one to two minutes per train. And with 22 inbound commuter trains passing through downtown Winfield every weekday, officials say, the time saved adds up.

"I can understand how that one minute or so would make a big difference," said Michael Gillis, a Metra spokesman. "If the road is that busy, things will start getting backed up."

Village President Deborah Birutis said making it easier for traffic to move through downtown will help efforts to redevelop the area.

"The more we can eliminate the backup on Winfield Road going either north or south the better off we are with having to develop our town center," said Birutis, who worked with Metra officials to address the wait times at the crossing.

Another key project for the redevelopment of downtown is the $3.4 million pedestrian underpass at the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, about 150 feet east of the train station. Once completed in spring 2010, the tunnel will give pedestrians a safe way to reach businesses on both sides of the tracks.

"On a couple different fronts we're starting to make some progress tying together the two halves of downtown," Village Manager Curt Barrett said. "Once the underpass is done, that should be real good news for us."

In the meantime, Birutis said she's negotiating with Union Pacific officials to address the issue of freight trains stopping and blocking the Winfield Road crossing.

Because westbound trains drop off so many more passengers at the Winfield station, there are no plans to modify where they stop. Gillis said stopping a westbound train before the Winfield Road crossing would prevent all its train cars from having direct access to the platform.