Metra back to normal after morning mini-meltdown

Metra trains were back to normal for the Thursday afternoon rush after a significant hiccup in the morning.

For a short period, trains could not enter or exit Union Station because an Amtrak signal system failed, Metra said in an alert around 9 a.m. Delays of up to 45 minutes were projected for BNSF and South West Service trains but resolved later in the morning.

The problem occurred as the BNSF Line comes under scrutiny by U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski over delays and conditions on train cars. Lipinski has asked the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to review the situation.