Metra expects no delays to the evening commute after the chaotic morning rush

Metra expects trains to run as scheduled during Monday's evening commute after technical problems disrupted four of the agency's lines earlier in the day.

Three Union Pacific Northwest trains — Nos. 637, 643 and 657 — will not operate from Chicago because the railroad was unable to reposition them after the delay. Metra runs 26 afternoon trains from Chicago to Harvard.

Thousands of commuters were affected by service outages and delays on the Union Pacific Northwest, Milwaukee North, North Central Service and Heritage Corridor lines Monday morning, a Metra spokesman said.

The disruption was caused by the Canadian National Railway's positive train control system. This system is a safety measure used on tracks and level crossings to prevent collisions, derailments and mishaps in the work area. All railways are obliged to do this.

“This morning, an IT issue impacted CN's train dispatch system in the United States, including Metra and Amtrak trains. The issue has been resolved and trains have resumed safe service,” Canadian National said in an emailed statement. “We apologize for the impact and inconvenience this will cause to commuters and the public.”

On rails in the Chicago area, each rail operator's positive train control system is required to communicate with other operators, said Michael Gillis, a spokesman for Metra.

Two of Metra's lines – the North Central Service and the Heritage Corridor – use Canadian National tracks. Neither line was able to operate Monday morning because the disruption occurred before service began, Gillis said.

Two other lines — Union Pacific Northwest and Milwaukee North — experienced delays because their Metra-operated tracks pass over Canadian National-controlled grade crossings.

“The entire morning rush was lost on those two lines and most of the rush was lost on the other two,” Gillis said. “We’re playing catch-up now.”

The trains left at 9:30 a.m., albeit with significant delays. Metra resumed its usual schedule and worked to get the canceled trains downtown in time for evening service, Gillis said.

While Metra didn't have exact numbers on the number of people affected, nearly 20,000 travelers used those four train lines last Monday, Gillis said. Approximately 600 riders used the Heritage Corridor, 1,200 used North Central service, 12,000 used Union Pacific Northwest and 5,500 used Milwaukee North.