After a little more than 24 hours of headaches to commuters who use Metra’s Milwaukee District West Line between Chicago and Elgin, the line’s operations are back to normal.
But the cleanup and investigation of the fiery freight-train derailment that caused the headaches before dawn Thursday could take weeks and months, respectively.
With one track temporarily reopened through the wreck site, Metra commuters headed for Chicago on the Milwaukee West Line Friday morning experienced a fairly normal (though sometimes delayed) trip.
Just after 5 a.m. Thursday, a northbound Canadian National freight train derailed at the railroad connection shared with Milwaukee West Metra trains between Elgin and downtown, transit officials said.
Some cars were carrying hazardous materials, but all materials were contained, according to Bartlett fire officials, and were not spilled. Nearby residents were not evacuated and no injuries were reported.
Milwaukee District West Line Metra trains west of Bartlett were stalled and held at the Big Timber station.
The derailment is still being investigated.
