Train Delays Expected After Fire on Metra's UP-West Line

Press release by Metra

A fire caused by an electrical short Tuesday morning resulted in extensive damage to a facility that controls all the switches and signals in the vicinity of 25th Avenue between the Melrose Park and Berkeley Stations on Metra’s Union Pacific West line.

The facility, which can be compared to a nerve center controlling all trains in the area, must be reconstructed and then must undergo extensive testing for safety reasons, a process which Union Pacific Railroad expects will take until midday on Thursday. Thousands of wires will need to be replaced, according to Metra officials.

Crews will be working around-the-clock for the next 48 hours to fix these problems and Union Pacific is currently working to reroute freight traffic to minimize interference with commuter trains in the area.

However, until the facility becomes operational again, all UP West Line trains, including 60 Metra commuter trains and all freight traffic, must stop, get permission to proceed and then travel at restricted speeds through the two-mile area.

This means that while most inbound and outbound trains are expected to depart on time, they could incur delays of up to 30 minutes en route from Tuesday afternoon through the afternoon rush hour on Thursday, Feb. 11. Departures later in the rush will be delayed because the train sets used in those trips will have been slowed passing through the affected area during earlier rush-hour trips.

For the Tuseday evening rush hour, the following trains are annulled:

• No. 43, departing Ogilvie at 4:17 p.m.
• No. 59, departing Ogilvie at 5:46 p.m.
• No. 60, arriving Ogilvie at 6:54 p.m.

In addition:

• No. 41, departing Ogilvie at 4:11 p.m., and No. 57, departing Ogilvie at 5:42 p.m., will make extra stops at Melrose Park and Maywood.
• No. 45, departing Ogilvie at 4:35 p.m., and No. 61, departing Ogilvie at 6:10 p.m., will make extra stops at Bellwood and Berkeley

Metra and Union Pacific are urging our customers to plan accordingly and make other travel plans or take earlier trains in order to reach their destinations on time. Metra will provide the most up-to-date information as it becomes available via our email alerts, UP West Line Twitter feed and www.metrarail.com.