Technology issues disrupted four Metra lines Monday morning, causing cancellations and delays for thousands of travelers during rush hour.
The Union Pacific Northwest, Milwaukee North, North Central Service and Heritage Corridor lines were all affected, a Metra spokesperson said.
The disruption was caused by the Canadian National Railway’s positive train control system. That system is a safety measure used on tracks and at rail crossings to prevent collisions, derailments and work zone mishaps. All railroads are required to have it.
“Earlier this morning, an IT issue impacted CN’s train dispatching system in the U.S., including Metra and Amtrak trains. The issue has been resolved and trains have resumed their safe movements,” Canadian National said in an emailed statement. “We apologize for the impact and inconvenience this is having on commuters and members of the public.”
On rails in the Chicago area, it’s required that every railway operator’s positive train control system communicates with other operators, said Michael Gillis, a Metra spokesperson.
Two of Metra’s lines — the North Central Service and Heritage Corridor — use Canadian National tracks. Neither line was able to get going Monday morning because the disruption happened before the service start, Gillis said.
Two other lines — Union Pacific Northwest and Milwaukee North — experienced delays because their tracks pass through rail crossings controlled by Canadian National.
“The whole morning rush lost on those two lines and most of the rush was lost on the other two,” Gillis said. “We’re now playing catch up.”
By 9:30 a.m., trains were running but with extensive delays. Metra resumed its usual schedule and is working to get the canceled trains downtown in time for the evening commute, Gillis said. It’s too soon to know if any delays will happen later on Monday.
While Metra didn’t have an exact count for how many people were affected, nearly 20,000 travelers used those four train lines last Monday, Gillis said. About 600 riders took the Heritage Corridor, 1,200 used the North Central Service, 12,000 were on the Union Pacific Northwest and 5,500 used Milwaukee North.