VIDEO: Metra train on northwest line downtown Arlington Heights were required to signal with long blasts of train horn because railroad gates were stuck in the down position overnight Friday/Saturday.
Arlington Heights police discovered about 12:05 a.m. Saturday that the gates were stuck in the down position from Euclid Avenue to Arlington Heights Road along the Northwest Line of the Union Pacific/Metra railroad line. Later the gates that were malfunctioning were at Dunton Avenue, Vail Avenue and Ridge/Walnut Avenue.
Several vehicles waited at the railroad crossings, but then drivers turned around realizing the gates were staying down. The malfunction continued until at least 1:50 a.m. Saturday. Police stood by at the Vail crossing and Dunton crossing for safety.
Several pedestrians were confused by the situation in cold weather in the teens. One person wondered if the trains were still running. Several intoxicated pedestrians also were walking in the area.
Every train that passed through during the malfunction delivered long blasts of their train horns as a safety precaution in case anyone was passing the malfunctioning train gates and crossing the tracks.
The train gates frequently malfunction in this stretch of the railroad tracks. At Euclid Avenue and Northwest Highway, the gates frequently go up and down, or remain stuck down, with no train in the area.
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Thx, was wondering what was going on. Glad it only took TWO hours to get things under control!