Jan 27, 2009 10:11 am US/Central
Metra Derailment Causes Cancellations, Delays
RICHTON PARK, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
A minor derailment on the Metra Electric University Park Line on Tuesday morning has led to an interruption in service and delays for commuters in the south suburbs.
No trains have been operating out of University Park, and while a bus service is available to passengers to get them to Matteson, Metra has asked riders who can ride the Rock Island District trains or South Shore trains out of Hegewisch to consider doing so.
Trains had been delayed for 30 minutes or more and were extremely crowded earlier Tuesday morning, but by about 9:30 a.m., delays were down to about 10 minutes, according to Metra.
The derailment occurred on a slow-moving train with no passengers aboard about 4 a.m. near Richton Park. The "minor" derailment occurred while the train was leaving the Richton Park rail yard, according to Metra spokesman Tom Miller. He said it was possibly caused by a broken rail. It was not immediately clear how many cars derailed.
The rail yard is located near the intersection of Sauk Trail and Governor's Highway. The train was leaving the rail yard at a slow rate of speed at the time and the engineer was on board. No one was hurt.
The derailment blocked the main line between Richton Park and University Park, which means no trains can operate out of University Park, according to a service alert on Metra's Web site.
Metra was using all available equipment from Richton Park to operate service between Matteson and Chicago.
There is a bus service available from the University Park Station to Matteson and from the Richton Park Station to Matteson. Once passengers get to Matteson, they are able to take a train into Chicago. Metra has contacted all municipalities along the line to request they relax parking restrictions.
Service on Metra's Blue Island and South Chicago Branch lines have been operating with no delays.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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