Metra cancels evening Heritage Corridor trains after freight train derailment

SHARE Metra cancels evening Heritage Corridor trains after freight train derailment
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Sun-Times file photo

Monday evening trains will not operate on Metra’s Heritage Corridor line in the southwest suburbs as crews continue working to clear a freight train derailment that has blocked the tracks since the early morning.

A Metra spokesman said the agency was informed about 3 a.m. of a Canadian National Railway train derailing and blocking both Metra tracks between Lockport and Willow Springs.

The derailment resulted in five cars on their sides, one of which was carrying plastic resin, according to a statement from Canadian National. A “minimal quantity” of the resin had leaked but has since been contained.

No injuries were reported and CN officials said there was “no danger to public safety,” but the derailment caused morning service disruptions on Metra and Amtrak lines.

Metra initially canceled its morning trains on the Heritage Corridor line, which runs from Joliet to Chicago, according to Metra. The transit agency later announced that the line’s evening trains would also not operate on Monday.

Passengers are advised to take the Rock Island Joliet branch, BNSF and Southwest Service lines as alternatives, Metra said. It was not immediately clear whether Heritage Corridor trains would be running again Tuesday morning.

Trains on Amtrak’s Lincoln Service, which runs from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri, were not operating on the Amtrak tracks between Joliet and Chicago Monday morning, according to service updates from the transit agency. The first northbound train of the morning terminated in Joliet and the first southbound train originated in Joliet.

Later trains were bypassing the Summit station and detouring along Metra’s Rock Island tracks in order to make stops in Chicago and Joliet, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. Trains on other Amtrak lines to and from Chicago were also expected to be rerouted to the Rock Island tracks throughout the day.

CN officials said the cause of the derailment remained under investigation. It was not immediately clear when the tracks will be cleared.

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