BNSF Railroad Tie Replacement To Cause Weekend Train Delays

NAPERVILLE, IL — If you're planning to commute on the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe (BNSF) Metra line Halloween weekend, be ready for some delays and schedule changes. Starting Oct. 25, BNSF will be replacing railroad ties between the Fairview Avenue stop in Downers Grove and the Aurora train station.

Crews will be putting in extra hours in an attempt to get some 17,000 railroad ties installed before Monday's commute. The work will be done between 8:30 p.m. and 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday night and from 6 p.m. until 3 a.m. Sunday night and Monday morning.

The railroad tie work will affect eastbound/inbound trains by adding a "construction delay" of at least 10 minutes. Train cancellations and delays are as follows:

• Trains 1295 and 1324 will be canceled Friday evening
• Train 1296, normally scheduled to leave Aurora at 8:21 p.m., will leave at 9 p.m. Friday
• Train 2001, normally scheduled to leave Chicago at 6:30 a.m., will be delayed until 7 a.m. Saturday morning
• Train 2006, which normally leaves Aurora at 8:20 a.m., will depart at 8:40 a.m. Saturday morning
• Train 2027, which usually leaves Chicago at 10:40 p.m., will depart at 11:10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

During construction times (between 8:30 p.m. and 8 a.m.), customers who are taking inbound trains will have to board from the north platforms at each station from Route 59 through the Downers Grove Main Street station.

The intention to get the project done over the weekend is to benefit riders with what Metra CEO and Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a statement will be a condensed work schedule that will be back to normal come rush hour Monday morning.