Man Climbs On Top of Metra Train, Delays Commuters

Line stopped for 30 to 40 minutes Monday morning

Service on Metra’s Union Pacific-North Line was delayed Monday morning after a person climbed onto the roof of a train.

Metra spokesperson Tom Miller said the man used one of the several ladders located on the train to get on the roof around 7:45 a.m. near the Rogers Park stop. The line was stopped for 30 to 40 minutes while police assisted in getting the man down.

Chicago Police said they were called to the scene just before 8 a.m. to help with a criminal trespassing incident. They took an adult male into custody and transported him to Illinois Masonic Hospital for evaluation.

Police sources said the man may have been suffering from some sort of mental episode.

Commuter Aaron Gavant said he was waiting for his train to arrive when he saw the man running back and forth.

“We see a guy on top and it looked like a conductor," Gavant said. "But then all a sudden he started running and we wondered why he was running.”

Gavant noted the man jumped from the outbound train to the inbound train at one point as well.

Despite the chaos, Gavant said he arrived at work only about 30 minutes behind schedule.

As of 10 a.m., Metra officials said there were still short delays.

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