Metra Service Restored After Monday Derailment

Metra tracks were restored to service by 3:30 a.m. Tuesday following a derailment a day earlier at an important switch but commuters should still keep an eye on schedules.

"Couldn't have happened at a worse spot or at a worse time for our service," said Metra spokesman Mike Gillis.

Major delays occurred on several Metra lines traveling north and northwest from Chicago Monday after a North Central Service train derailed, officials said.

The derailment happened at the start of rush hour on the city's Northwest Side near the 1800 block of North Hamlin Avenue at a junction used by three train lines. The incident caused big delays on the Milwaukee District North and West lines and the North Central Service. 

"The engineer stopped it really suddenly. And then the the conductor got on the intercom and said, 'We're going to be delayed for a while. We've got an accident,'" one passenger told NBC Chicago.

Officials no not know the cause of the derailment.

Metra had  encouraged commuters to seek alternate forms of transportation, which include other Metra lines, CTA, and PACE. Metra tickets were honored on the CTA Brown line from downtown Chicago to Kimball and on the CTA Blue line from downtown to O'Hare.

No injuries were reported.

Up-to-date schedule information and service alerts are posted to MetraRail.com.

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