Metra North Central Service is shut down until further notice early Tuesday because of a freight train derailment in Grayslake.
NCS Advisory – North Central Service Not Operating Until Further Notice http://t.co/7onDHeRl6Y
— Metra (@Metra) January 28, 2014
Train Stations on the North Central Service Line
Antioch
Lake Villa
Round Lake Beach
Washington St. / Grayslake
Prairie Crossing / Libertyville
Mundelein
Vernon Hills
Prairie View
Buffalo Grove
Wheeling
Prospect Heights
O’Hare Transfer
Rosemont
Schiller Park
Belmont Ave / Franklin Park
River Grove
Western Avenue
Union Station
Grayslake, IL. Canadian National rail crews work to clear a train derailment. *Coverage posted by Joe #metra pic.twitter.com/5Y7wxXKGCb
— Captured News (@CapturedNews) January 28, 2014
METRA System-Wide Advisory from January 27, 2014
Safety is our number one priority! Extremely cold, potentially record-breaking temperatures are forecast for the Chicago area on Monday, January 27, 2014 through Wednesday, January 29, 2014. As always, we will make every reasonable effort to provide a timely and comfortable commute.
However, trains are likely to be delayed. Please allow extra travel time to assure safe passage to and from your destination. In the interest of safety, we will be operating at reduced speeds, if necessary, to reduce the stress on the rails. Cold weather often leads to slower boarding and we therefore expect station stops to be longer than usual.
We urge passengers to use extra caution getting on and off trains safely. Metra will continue to utilize all possible measures available to combat extraordinary weather conditions, beyond our control, that could create unanticipated delays or service disruptions.
Metra will have extra engineering and mechanical personnel in the field over the weekend to keep our switches operational and have our locomotives and trains ready for service. This is difficult; work on switches and much of the routine train servicing must be performed outdoors, and the severe cold is as hard on our workers as it is on our equipment.
The last time the Chicago area experienced such a combination of heavy snow and severe cold were the winters of 1978-79 and 1983-84. Metra, BNSF and UP managers and employees are doing everything possible to keep the trains running.
We will be communicating with riders, as necessary, over the weekend and into Monday morning via our website, e-alerts, Twitter, onboard and platform announcements and through our media partners.
Please remember, safety is our number one priority. Thank you for choosing Metra for your travel needs. Please refer to Service Updates for line-specific information and check the National Weather Service for details about Chicago’s weather forecast.