Amtrak derailment adds to Metra delays

Commuters trying to get home on Metra's BNSF line are facing additional stress this evening following an Amtrak train derailment.

Two cars on the Southwest Chief headed from Chicago to the West Coast slipped off the rails at 3:20 p.m., Amtrak officials said.

No serious injuries were reported, but the incident is not only delaying the Southwest Chief but having a domino effect on Metra trains.

Some of the biggest problems are occurring on the BNSF line between Aurora and Chicago.

A number of westbound trains were operating up to 80 minutes late. One eastbound train was running 70 minutes behind schedule and another had not left the Aurora Metra train station by early evening.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Maglieri said the incident occurred in an underground tunnel just outside of Union Station by the old main post office building over the Eisenhower Expressway. Because of the layout of the tracks, it's affecting other train lines and taking time to fix.

"Our service is slowly coming back," Maglieri said.

He said authorities are still investigating the cause of the derailment.

About 116 people were on the Southwest Chief, which was traveling at a low speed when the wheels slipped off the tracks.

Metra officials have cleared one track near a derailed Amtrak train, so trains can now move through the area-- slowly.

Commuters who use Union Station are encouraged to find another route home.

"The rush hour is nowhere near normal this evening," said Metra spokesperson Judy Pardonnet.

Commuters are being loaded on trains which will wind through the mess. "It's a major bottleneck," said Pardonnet. One train will leave at a time to get around the derailed California Zephyr.

"We can get them out, but it's a matter of jockeying things around and trying to operate on a very limited track, and as they continue to remove the derailment we'll be able to move hopefully on two tracks by the end of this evening but at this point we can expect really extreme delays and we do have passenger service people in the stations giving out alternate information. If people are able to do that and arrange for ground transportation once they arrive on perhaps Union Pacific West, for example," said Pardonnet.

Officials hope to have a second train track open by late this evening. But that depends on how quickly the debris is cleared.

Earlier Wednesday morning, a miscommunication between a U.S. Secret Service agent who was armed and a ticket agent at the 5th Avenue Naperville Metra station who thought he presented a danger led to an eastbound train being stopped and searched in Lisle. By the time authorities sorted out the facts, passengers had waited nearly two hours.

The stormy weather was also causing delays on Milwaukee District North trains.

ABC 7 Chicago and Associated Press contributed to this report