Metra closing Homewood station on Electric Line to replace stairway
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Metra is closing the Homewood station on the Electric Line for several weeks starting on Monday as part of a $20 million renovation project.
The Homewood stop will be closed through May 20 while crews replace the only stairway leading from the pedestrian tunnel up to the platform. The elevator between the tunnel and the platform will also be replaced.
There is no other way for Metra commuters who use that station to reach the platform while that work is being done.
"We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience to our Homewood customers, but this is the only stairway to the platform, and it must be replaced, which leaves us with no alternative but to close the station and replace the stairway as quickly as possible," said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski.
As an alternative to the Homewood station, Electric Line riders can use the Calumet station about one mile north, where Metra said there is ample parking.
During the closure at Homewood, inbound trains that normally run express from Homewood will instead run express from Calumet, while outbound trains that normally run express to Homewood will instead run express to Calumet.
A $20.7 million reconstruction project at the Homewood station began last May, and should be complete by this summer. The project includes a new ADA-accessible east headhouse, renovations to the platform, wind barriers, a warming house, a gatehouse, new drainage, new ventilation, and new lighting.
The renovated station will also include a new Pace bus facility with three bus bays and a covered waiting area.