As temperatures in the Chicago area remained brutally cold Monday morning, commuters were met with delays from two major rail agencies.
Both Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority saw issues due to the cold temperatures.
Trains on Metra's BNSF line were stopped just before 8 a.m. north of Union Station due to frozen switches, the agency said. A fix was expected within two hours but exact timing wasn't immediately clear.
On the Union Pacific Northwest line and the Electric line, mechanical problems and emergency track repairs delayed a number of trains.
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On the CTA, Orange Line Service was "suspended due to a track issue near the 35th/Archer station," the agency said.
"Shuttle buses are being made available to the affected area. Customers are encouraged to consider other nearby bus routes or using buses to other rail lines," the CTA said. "These may include the #62 Archer bus."
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It wasn't just railways experiencing trouble.
As of 6:30 a.m., just under 200 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport and another 161 were canceled at Midway Airport.
According to the National Weather Service, a wind chill warning continues through noon Tuesday for many, with wind chills potentially dropping as low as 40 degrees below zero at times.
After the wind chill warning expires, a wind chill advisory will remain in effect through 9 a.m. Wednesday for several counties, according to NWS officials. It isn't until Wednesday morning that wind chills are expected to rise above -10 degrees.
Winds are expected to continue to be an issue in coming days.
A number of schools announced closures through Tuesday for the conditions.
While the majority of public schools already have Monday off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, others have either canceled classes or shifted to e-learning because of the extreme cold.
