Metra said Monday, Sept. 8, 2014 that its Union Pacific West Line riders will see alterations to midday and weekend train schedules when a major rail replacement for the line project gets under way next Monday, Sept. 15.
For about a month, through Oct. 15, "Union Pacific forces will replace the rail on nearly 13 miles of track between Kress Road in West Chicago and Elburn (milepost 32.1 to milepost 45)," Metra said. "The work will take place on Track Number 1, which regular UP West Line riders would know as the northernmost or "inbound" track. This rail was originally laid in 1980 and has reached the end of its useful life. Changing the rail will avoid slow orders in the future and ensure the continuation of reliable service for passengers from Elburn, La Fox and Geneva."
Metra Executive Director and CEO Don Orseno added, "Our goal with our partners at UP is to minimize the inconvenience to our customers; however, replacing rail that is more than 30 years old is essential to our ability to continue to provide safe and reliable service now and into the future."
A construction schedule will be in effect throughout the project with delays of 10 minutes expected for midday trains on weekdays and 15 minutes for trains on weekends, and will be posted on Metra's website, Metra said, adding that "due to the nature of the project and the amount of rail traffic in this corridor, trains operating during peak construction periods may experience additional delays.
Metra said it hopes to "minimize the impact on UP West riders and shorten the project's time frame" by deploying workers "seven days a week and plan[ning] to limit single-track operations to the weekends. UP will also divert as much freight traffic as possible away from the corridor to reduce interference with passenger service."