CHICAGO — Metra and Amtrak officials said trains were running on time Friday morning, despite massive delays that started with a train derailment Thursday afternoon, according to NBC5 in Chicago.
An Amtrak train derailed just after 2:00 p.m., causing service interruptions to three Metra train lines.
The Metra lines affected by the derailment were the Milwaukee North to Fox Lake, Milwaukee West to Elgin and North Central to Antioch, Metra spokeswoman Audrey Renteria said. She did not know where the derailment occurred.
Trains were running on a “load and go” basis during the rush hour, Renteria said, and commuters were told to expect delays of up to an hour.
Commuters on the North Central line were able to pick up service in River Grove and continue to their destinations, Renteria said.
The derailment occurred near Lake and Canal streets, a police dispatcher said.
According to the dispatcher, there were no injuries.
Amtrak spokeswoman Kathleen Cantillone said at the scene that shortly after Amtrak’s “Empire Builder” to Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., departed from Union Station one dining car and one sleeping car derailed. The cause is not known.
The train was carrying 157 passengers, none of whom was injured in the derailment, she said. One passenger developed breathing problems and chest pains shortly before 4 p.m. and asked to be taken to a hospital, Cantillone added, but that malady was unrelated to the derailment.
The train was delayed for less than four hours. The two cars that derailed were separated from the train, and the remaining cars continue to their destination, pulling out shortly after 5 p.m.
Metra and Amtrak trains were able to use a parallel track to get around the derailment.