Service on the south suburban Metra Electric Line has been suspended for Wednesday and Thursday due to wire issues, the agency announced on social media.
According to Metra, service was suspended on the line at 7:30 a.m. because of frigid cold conditions causing problems with the overhead wiring systems that power the trains. A 7:30 a.m. train into downtown Chicago was called back to its origination point in University Park, and all further trains on the line for the remainder of the day have been canceled.
Customers are advised to use the Rock Island Metra line, or to utilize the CTA for transportation over the coming days.
Metra passes will be honored by the CTA on Red Line trains in Chicago, as well as bus routes 71, 26, 28, 6, J14, 2, and 1, the agency says.
A Pace bus will also help get passengers back from Chicago to the south suburbs on Friday afternoon. The bus will depart at 4:30 p.m. from Millennium Station, and stops between Kensington and University Park will be serviced.
Service on the South Shore commuter line will also be suspended on Wednesday, but a decision for Thursday has yet to be made.
All Metra lines were operating under alternate schedules Wednesday and Thursday because of the extreme weather conditions, the agency announced Monday evening. The full schedules can be found on Metra's website here.
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Metra advised travelers to allow extra time for travel on Wednesday as temperatures lower than -10 degrees will reduce train speeds to 60 mph.
The Rock Island line was operating with 15 to 20-minute delays due to switch problems, Metra said Wednesday, as was the Heritage Corridor line.
From the western suburbs, the BNSF Railway line was between 14 and 32 minutes behind schedule due to "emergency track repairs," Metra said.
Two sets of gates near the Brookfield station on the BNSF line, located near Burlington and Maple, as well as near Burlington and Prairie, were stuck down for several hours beginning overnight early Wednesday. Police were on the scene directing cars around the gates when it was safe. It was not clear when the gates would be fixed.
Nearly every other Metra line - Union Pacific Northwest, Milwaukee District North, Union Pacific North and Union Pacific Northwest, among others - were also operating under delays due to signal problems or mechanical failures.
Commuters were advised to continue to monitor Metra's website for updates.
