A derailment involving a Metra train Tuesday night will cause delays on both Metra and Amtrak lines during rush hour Wednesday evening, the agencies announced.
That detrailment, which took place at Union Station late Tuesday night, caused significant delays for both Metra and Amtrak at Union Station Wednesday morning, and although clean-up efforts have been ongoing, normal service will not be restored in time for the evening commute.
According to Metra, delays of up to 30 minutes can be expected on the BNSF and SouthWest Service lines departing out of Union Station. Delays of up to 15 minutes will be seen on the Heritage Corridor trains as well, according to the agency.
Amtrak delays will be even worse, as delays on arrivals and departures could reach as high as 45 minutes.
Tuesday's derailment occurred just before 11 p.m. on the south side of Union Station, according to Metra officials. The third, fourth and fifth cars of the eight-car train left the tracks, but the train remained upright.
Three passengers were onboard at the time of the derailment and no injuries were reported.
The cause of the derailment was not immediately known but crews were working to remove the train from the scene and repair several switches damaged in the incident.
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"Those switches control a number of routes to the South Concourse platforms, and until they are fixed, all Metra and Amtrak trains will be restricted to a smaller number of tracks," Metra said in a statement.
Passengers on the BNSF, SouthWest and Heritage Corridor lines were told to expect "significant delays" Wednesday morning due to the incident. Metra also expects its Wednesday evening rush hour could also be impacted.
Amtrak also warned customers to plan for delays of up to 30 minutes "because of temporarily reduced capacity in the South Concourse."
