Metra resumes normal service after derailment
Metra has resumed normal train service on its Milwaukee District West Line, though commuters can expect delays of up to 25 minutes through the weekend, officials said.
Trains stopped operating about 5:30 a.m. Thursday after 22 cars of a Canadian National freight train derailed between Bartlett and Elgin where Metra’s line intersects with the former EJ&E line now owned by Canadian National.
Service was mostly restored for Friday’s morning rush, then suspended again between Bartlett and Elgin so crews could continue doing repair work. Full service was restored for the afternoon rush Friday.
Metra officials said about 11,000 people use the Milwaukee District West Line daily, but those most affected by the derailment were the 2,000 or so riders who use the three Elgin stops west of Bartlett.
Metra will operate normal train service on one track carrying both inbound and outbound traffic through the weekend while crews finish up repair work on other tracks that are likely to reopen over the weekend, Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile said.
Canadian National spokesman Patrick Waldron said Friday afternoon the north-south freight route should reopen to traffic shortly while the cleanup continues.
The cause of the derailment — which involved a 120-car northbound freight train traveling from Gary, Ind., to Fond du Lac, Wis. — has yet to be determined, though one official said preliminary indications are that a piece of broken rail may have been responsible.
The train careened off the rails near Gifford and Spaulding roads at the Elgin-Bartlett border near an industrial area. No injuries were reported.
Authorities said two of the derailed cars were tankers containing liquid hazardous materials but no chemicals were released. Three derailed cars caught fire, and it took hours to extinguish the blaze.
Seven to nine freight trains a day normally run on the EJ&E line, Waldron said.
For updated commuter service advisories, visit metrarail.com.