Several Metra BNSF trains headed in and out of Chicago's Union Station are experiencing delays of up to 60 minutes due to switch problems and failures, the agency said Tuesday morning.
The switch problems began at the Congress Park Metra Station in Brookfield, Illinois, the agency said in a series of tweets, with as many as eight in and outbound trains seeing delays.
Sources on delayed trains told NBC Chicago that conductors announced that the switches are frozen.
According to Metra, crews are working on the issue.
A blog post that details how Metra handles service disruptions said that extreme cold, snow or ice buildup "can prevent switches from closing properly, resulting in signal failures and delays."
"We employ switch heaters to keep the switches clear," the post said. "However, trains often drop icy material into open switches as they rumble over them."
The delays come as Tuesday in the Chicago area gets off to a bitter cold start. According to the NBC 5 Storm Team, wind chill values Tuesday morning were below zero in some parts.
Local
According to NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman, temperatures Tuesday were only expected to rise into the mid 20s, with wind chills expected to remain in the teens.
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